03 Mar 08

Drawing by Percy Matthews, while he was stationed with the Middlesex Regiment in Salonika.

Oxford University researchers are inviting the public to submit digital photographs or transcripts of personal World War I memorabilia, which may be hidden away in the cupboards and attics of their homes.

The search for artefacts, letters, diaries, poems and stories is starting on  on 3 March 2008 and will continue for three months. Those who have items that may have been passed down from generation to generation can submit them as digital photographs via a website or take them to their local library for photographing or scanning.

An online archive will then be put together and launched on 11 November 2008, the 90th anniversary of the armistice. This resource, to be made available free of charge, will be aimed mainly at schools, colleges and universities.

Project Director Dr Stuart Lee said: ‘Some of the items may be in a fragile condition after ninety years, and are at risk of being lost forever. However insignificant, each of these personal items has a part to play in helping today's generation to understand what World War I meant to ordinary people: the soldiers, their families and the workers back in Britain who kept the country going.’

Dr Liz Masterman, who works at Oxford University, is one of the first to contribute to the archive. She has submitted a selection of sketches by Percy Matthews, her husband’s grandfather. They include beautifully drawn scenes and characters from military and civilian lives, which Percy Matthews observed while he was stationed with the Middlesex Regiment in Salonika (today: Thessaloniki).

Dr Masterman said: ‘As a parent, I am keenly aware of the role of the internet in making top-quality educational resources readily available to students and their teachers. My husband and his family have treasured Percy’s drawings over the decades and are delighted that others will now be able to enjoy them too. I hope the Great War Archive will bring a wealth of other material to light, and so help future generations to appreciate the impact of the war on those who were caught up in it.’ 

Mick Caldicott from Acocks Green, Birmingham, also contacted the team recently with an autograph book that belonged to his Great Aunt (Beryl Ellis). She was a nurse at Moor Green Lane Hospital, Birmingham, during the First World War, and the autograph book contains poems and sketches by the soldiers she was nursing.

One-day events where people can learn more about the project and have their items scanned will be held over the next three months around the country.

The first event will be held at the Oxford Town library on 10 March 2008, from 10am-4pm.