Hackney remembers – young historians to uncover WWI legacy

Poppies and planes, Imperial War Museum Photograph: IWM

Children at two local schools are to explore how people’s lives in Hackney were affected by the First World War as part of a government push to mark its centenary.

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded a grant of £45,100 to the ‘Hackney Remembers’ project as part of plans to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1914-1918 war.

The project will be run by theatre company Fifth Word and will see pupils from one school focus on the soldiers sent from East London to fight, whilst the other school will study the affects of the war on local families.

“Using drama teaching methods and resources from local museums, we can quite literally bring to life the personal stories of Hackney soldiers and their families,” said Laura Ford, spokesperson for Fifth Word.

“This will result in a meaningful travelling exhibition curated by the young people themselves looking at what happened on their own doorstep one hundred years ago,” she added.

Springfield Community Primary school students will investigate how the war affected men from parts of East London, such as Stamford Hill and Homerton, and on the Jewish soldiers sent from these areas to serve in the British army.

Pupils will look at letters, soldiers’ diaries, memoirs, and official documents such as call-up notices and killed-in-action telegrams, to discover what life was like on the frontline. They will receive assistance from the Hackney Archives, Hackney Museum, the Jewish Military Museum and the Imperial War Museum.

St John & St James Primary School students will study the lives of women and families left behind whilst the men were fighting in the trenches, using images, artefacts, film, sound, letters and diaries to learn about life on the home front and compare it with Hackney today.

Sue Bowers, head of Heritage Lottery Fund London, said: “The young people will be looking at history that had a profound effect on the lives of those that lived in their neighbourhoods.”

‘Hackney Remembers’ will conclude with a mobile exhibition for the community and a digital resource pack for teachers to help them plan projects to mark the centenary in 2014.

Local volunteers will receive training to assist with research and the children taking part will help curate an exhibition for Hackney Museum. The HLF says there will also be a documentary made about the project.

The Prime Minister announced in October that £50 million has been allocated to a national commemoration of the First World War, which will include a revamp of London’s Imperial War Museum and large public ceremonies.

The HLF will provide £6 million for projects to involve young people in marking the anniversary in their local communities. The government has also assigned £5.3 million for school visits to the sites of historic battles.

For more information or to volunteer email: info@fifthword.co.uk