2018 saw the culmination of four years of commemorating numerous centenaries of the First World War. From the outbreak of war to Armistice, the collections at The National Archives hold unique insights and untold stories of events spanning the years 1914 to 1918.
From Monday 13 to Friday 18 August 2018, The National Archives held a free five-day event for A level and pre-university students. Examining the events of the First World War and the impact it had on soldiers and civilians, students worked with artist Carol Adlam, Senior Lecturer in Illustration at Nottingham Trent University and shortlisted illustrator for the World Illustrator Awards 2018, on an arts project that involved interpreting original sources from our collections using graphic art techniques.
Detail of ‘The Mapmaker’ by participating student Matthew Lee
You can find the finished eBook of this project here: Armistice and Legacy
The week provided students with the unique opportunity to:
- find out more about The National Archives and the different records we hold
- explore and interpret original documents related to the events of the First World War
- take part in workshops over the five days covering script editing, storyboarding, observational art techniques, pencilling, inking and colouring, as well as final art production
For information on the artist please visit: caroladlam.co.uk
We ran our exciting film project, ‘Holding History’, from Monday 30 July to Friday 3 August 2018, with a group of enthusiastic young people (aged 16-19 years).
Working with professional filmmaker, Nigel Kellaway, students had the opportunity to explore original documents from our collection spanning key events and lesser-known personal stories from the past 1000 years of history. What is The National Archives? How has it changed and developed over the centuries? What are the challenges, threats and importance of an archive in today’s world?
From the Domesday Book to the Dark Archive, students had the chance to engage with our collection and create a stop-motion film of your interpretations.
View the finished film:
The project also led to the creation of an online lesson resource.
Taking part in this project enabled students to:
- Research the history using original documents, with support from our Education team and record experts
- Work creatively with like-minded young people
- Learn film-making skills from a professional from the industry
- Find out more about The National Archives and the documents we hold, on themes as diverse as the Transatlantic Slave Trade, Great Fire of London and Second World War spies
- Take part in a unique project that communicates some of the stories from our documents
Applicants who took part gave this feedback on the experience:
‘I think learning about preservation and discovering history for ourselves is really fulfilling.’ – Hayerin
‘I think it’s really important to give young people a chance to understand the archives and what they do.’ – Jenny