1918-2008: Ninety Years Of Remembrance.
The ongoing interest in the First World War shows how we are all of us somehow connected with events of 1914-18 and that many people have a voracious appetite for finding out just how our families were affected by the conflict.
One of the new websites launched to commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the Armistice is The BBC's new website 1918-2008: Ninety Years Of Remembrance, a learning campaign in the run up to November 11, to encourage individuals and families to look into the stories and documents of their relatives who served in the First World War.
According to Louise Wordsworth, BBC Learning Campaign Executive, the BBC wants to "help people re-engage with the act of remembrance on a personal level" by encouraging them to share their family stories of the Great War and learn about what happened to the soldiers that came from their local areas.
People are encouraged to post their family artefacts, photographs and memories on the wall of remembrance at www.bbc.co.uk/remembrance/
Research and learning facilities plus links to an array of family history sites are available at the website, enabling people to research their relatives’ role in the war and delve into their family history.
The Beeb have also linked up to the genealogy subscription site www.ancestry.co.uk, who are waiving their charges for the month of November to encourage people to search the remaining British Army First World War service and pension records and the ‘medal rolls’ online.
The Armistice - the lives of men and women who shaped the First World War and its aftermath.
Another subscription site offering part of its site for free during this period of Remembrance is the website of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. The site is remembering the lives of some of the men and women who shaped the First World War and its aftermath as the 90th anniversary of Armistice approaches at www.oxforddnb.com/public/armistice/
For many of the people who make the pilgrimage to the Ypres and Somme regions of Belgium and France in search of the graves of relatives, the Debt of Honour Register of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an important port of call.
The database lists the 1.7 million men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died during the two world wars. For more information see www.cwgc.org.uk.
The National Archives is also a logical place to research family history and the Pathways part of the website has an interesting section on the First World War. The Military History pages of the National Archives are also a mine of useful information, containing useful tips about service records and tracing your military ancestors.
But perhaps the best starting point for such genealogical research is www.armymuseums.co.uk. As well as a wealth of useful links, The Army Museums Ogilby Trust site offers a 4,000 volume regimental bibliography. The UK has 136 army museums and, as the name suggests, you can also find full details for these online here.
Finally the Imperial War Museum has developed several micro sites over the years exploring various aspects of the conflict.
www.iwm.org.uk/90 is designed to accompany the museum’s In Memoriam: Remembering the Great War exhibition and allows you to explore the First World War Collections and find out more about the founding of the museum and the development of its branches.
