Update: Roll of Honour

Ever since we lauched our Roll of Honour in November 2015, we have been overwhelmed with support from the public. With just one part time member of staff, it has taken longer than we’d anticipated to get information entered, however we have recently recruited and trained several student volunteers to help us with the backlog.

Over the past two days, we’ve updated nearly 60 entries. We’ve been able to tell the stories of men who fell such as Private John Buntin Henderson, Private William Buntin Henderson, and Gunner David Bell. Thank to family members, we’ve been able to add photographs, scans of silk postcards, and much more to their records.

Public submissions have also allowed us to add to our ‘Returnees‘ section. We’ve updated this to include entries for  Lieutenant Colonel William Edward Foggie,  Private James Collins, and Major James Samuel Yeaman Rogers, to name but a few. We’re proud to be able to share the stories of these distinguished and decorated soldiers – and we couldn’t have done it without the public’s help.

We’re still working our way through the backlog so if you’re waiting on information going up, it shouldn’t be too long now. Thank you for your patience and support!

 

Poppy Partner Opportunities at the Black Watch Castle and Museum

From 30th June until 25th September, Perth’s Five Star Visitor attraction, The Black Watch Castle and Museum will host the Poppies: Weeping Window by artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper specially presented by 14-18 NOW to mark the centenary of the First World War. Weeping Window is a cascade comprising several thousand handmade ceramic poppies seen pouring from a high window to the ground below. Weeping Window will flow from a second floor turret window onto the Castle grounds.

The venue is offering a unique opportunity for the community to become involved with this awe inspiring sculpture through their Poppy Partner volunteer role. This role will include supporting the Castle and Museum Team to provide a world class visitor experience, through visitor engagement, tours, events and operational support.

Rebecca Berger, Volunteer Coordinator at the Castle and Museum explains, “This is a fantastic opportunity to participate in the national First World War commemorations right here in Perth. If you would like to be involved in sharing this moving art work with our visitors and helping us to create our own meaning and relevance to this historic sculpture please get in touch with us.”

The breath-taking sculptures Weeping Window and Wave are from the installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red. The installation was originally at HM Tower of London in 2014 where 888,246 poppies were displayed, one to honour every death in the British and Colonial forces of the First World War. In their original setting they captured the public imagination and were visited by over five million people.

To find out more about the Volunteer Poppy Partner role and how to apply visit www.theblackwatch.co.uk/volunteering, email poppypartners@theblackwatch.co.uk or contact 01738 638152 Ex 208

Stephen Fry Award for Excellence in Public Engagement with Research 2016

The Great War Dundee (GWD) Commemorative Project are thrilled to have won the Stephen Fry Award for Excellence in Public Engagement with Research 2016.

The award recognises the work of outstanding University communicators in improving understanding of the research and practice of the University to a wider audience. The winners receive a trophy and £1500 prize money to use towards their future communication activities.

Stephen Fry (former Rector at the University) personally congratulated the project group in a recording which was played at today’s Discovery Day, where the winners were presented with their award.

Listen here http://uod.ac.uk/1n0mYGR.

The interactive Roll of Honour is now live!

 

We’re excited to annouce that our interactive Roll of Honour is now live! Traditionally, a Roll of Honour commemorates those who paid the ultimate sacrifice however, with this ambitious project, we’re aiming to tell the stories of every Dundonian who experienced The Great War. Visitors will be able to search records for information relating to those who fought and fell, those who survived, and even those who experienced the First World War on the Home Front.

Creating an interactive Roll of Honour like this is major undertaking; as you’ll see, some records are fuller than others, some records may even be incorrect, and in some cases, some men have even been missed off the official Roll of Honour entirely, but we’d like to rectify this! We’re looking for information, photographs, and family memories to tell these stories.  We’ve already had some fantastic contributions from members of the public, local history groups, and researchers. We’d love for the Dundee public to share information about their family member’s experiences of the First World War. Using this information, we hope to create a lasting and fitting tribute to those of the city who contributed to Dundee’s efforts during the Great War.

Loos: The Fallen Fourth available for download

If you came to Remembering Loos, you might have caught our presentation of our visualisation, Loos: The Fallen Fourth. We’re pleased to announce that it’s now available for download.

Loos: The Fallen Fourth is the interactive story of the 4th Black Watch: Dundee’s Own. It is the story of the city of Dundee and how it was affected by a single battle hundreds of miles away. To download, visit this link and follow the instructions on screen.

Tickets for ‘The Guns of Loos’ are on sale now

Great War Dundee and Dundee Contemporary Arts present a very special screening of The Guns of Loos to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Loos. Not seen in Scotland since the 1930s and with a newly commisioned score performed live by one of the UK’s leading composers and performers, Stephen Horne, this event is not to be missed. See the DCA film listing for more information

Tickets are priced at £10 (£7) and can be purchased from the DCA Box Office or online.

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