Volunteers Wanted

#8

#9

#1

#2

#3

#5

#4

#6

#7

Research a relative. With nearly 37 million people killed or injured during World War One, most families will have lost a friend, neighbour or relative during the conflict. You can start with just a name and place of birth by using the Ancestry website, which you can access free at any Sefton Library. If your ancestor was local then there may be information about them at Crosby Library.

Visit your local library. Sefton Libraries will commemorate the centenary of World War One with a series of photographic exhibitions, during 2014 - 2018, come and have a look.

Write a war diary. The National Archives now have the war diaries of the first three cavalry and the first seven infantry divisions of the British Army in the First World War. These are not personal diaries, but list troop movements and battles. Have a read, then write a diary yourself.

Write a poem. The War Poets captured the horror of the trenches in verse. Read a little Wilfred Owen or Sassoon and then write your own poem.

Write a letter. Soldiers and their families wrote avidly to each other during the war. Imagine you are writing to a loved one fighting abroad, or sending a reassuring letter home. An example can be found on the BBC website.

Create a cartoon. Many soldiers turned to art as a way to escape from the drudgery of life in the trenches, and to pass the time while they recovered from injuries. Many of the cartoons they drew poked fun at military life or senior officers.

Create a World War One map of your local area. The map could contain the location of your local War Memorial, any local army camps, war related factories or the addresses of local War heroes.

Cook a trench meal. Try a taste of history and create a typical meal cooked in the trenches. See the section 'Food for thought' for a recipe and have a trench Tommy tea. Dig in!

Visit The Atkinson, Southport. The Atkinson Museum and Gallery has collections of objects, paintings, photographs and documentswhich bring to life the impact that the war had on local people and their communities.

The Atkinson will be screening archive WW1 film footage and exhibiting objects from its museumcollections between 6th September and 16th November 2014.

From July 2014 through to 2018, The Atkinson will also be programming theatre performances,concerts and film screenings which commemorate and explore personal stories and themes relatingto the war and its legacy.

Useful websites:Facebook - seftonlibrariesTwitter - seftonlibrarieswww.ancestry.co.uk - free access is available atany Sefton Library.www.sefton.gov.uk/librarieswww.nationalarchives.gov.ukImperial War Museum - www.iwm.org.ukwww.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/

Further info is available from:• Liverpool Museum - Archive for the King’s (Liverpool) Regiment• Imperial War Museum North, Salford • The Akinson Museum, Southport

War Memorials.More information about the names honoured on individual memorials is available at Sefton’s Information Unit at Crosby Library or online at: www.merseysiderollofhonour.co.uk/memori-als/memorials.htm

We have set a series of missions for you, soldier.Lets see if you have got what it takes!