First World War Digital Resources by Christopher Phillips.
From the post:
The centenary of the First World War has acted as a catalyst for intense public and academic attention. One of the most prominent manifestations of this increasing interest in the conflict is in the proliferation of digital resources made available recently. Covering a range of national and internationally-focused websites, this review makes no pretence at comprehensiveness; indeed it will not cover the proliferation of locally-oriented sites such as the Tynemouth World War One Commemoration Project, or those on neutral territories like the Switzerland and the First World War. Instead, this review will offer an introduction to some of the major repositories of information for both public and academic audiences seeking further understanding of the history of the First World War.
The Imperial War Museum (IWM) in London has been designated by the British government as the focal point of British commemorations of the war. The museum itself has been the recipient of a £35million refurbishment, and the IWM’s Centenary Website acts as a collecting point for multiple regional, national and international cultural and educational organisations through the First World War Centenary Partnership. This aspect of the site is a real triumph, providing a huge, regularly updated events calendar which demonstrates both the geographical spread and the variety of the cultural and academic contributions scheduled to take place over the course of the centenary.
Built upon the stunning visual collections held by the museum, the website contains a number of introductory articles on a wide range of subjects. In addition to the relatively familiar subjects of trenches, weaponry and poets, the website also provides contributions on the less-traditional aspects of the conflict. The varied roles taken by women, the ‘sideshow’ theatres of war outside the Western Front, and the myriad animals used by the armed forces are also given featured. Although the many beautiful photographs and images from the IWM itself are individually recorded, the lack of a ‘further reading’ section to supplement the brief written descriptions is a weakness, particularly as the site is clearly geared towards those at an early stage in their research into the conflict (the site contains a number of advertisements for interactive talks at IWM sites aimed at students at KS3 and above).
The keystone of the IWM’s contribution to the centenary, however, is the Lives of the First World War project. Lives aims to create a ‘permanent digital memorial to more than eight million men and women from across Britain and the Commonwealth’ before the end of the centenary. Built upon the foundation of official medal index cards, the site relies upon contributions from the public, inputting data, photographs and information to help construct the ‘memorial’. Launched in February 2014, the database is currently sparsely populated, with very little added to the life stories of the majority of soldiers. Concentration at the moment appears to be on the more ‘celebrity’ soldiers of the war, men such as Captain Noel Chavasse and Wilfred Owen, upon whom significant research has already been undertaken. Although a search option is available to find individual soldiers by name, unit, or service number, the limitations of the search engine render a comparison of soldiers from the same city or from a shared workplace impossible. Lives is undoubtedly an ambitious project; however at this time there is little available for genealogists or academic researchers on the myriad stories still locked in attics and archives across Britain.
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If you are interested in World War I and its history, this is an excellent starting point. Unlike military histories, the projects covered here paint a broader picture of the war, a picture that includes a wider cast of characters.