A Personal Experience of WW1

As part of our History, Community and Cultures second-year module, students can undertake work placements in some of the most exciting heritage venues, archives and libraries in and around York. In the third of our History, Communities and Cultures 2019 blog posts, James Gray discusses the emotional impact of being able to read WWI sources at the York Army Museum. 

When I first saw the potential placements that were on offer from the university, the York Army Museum opportunity immediately caught my eye. Military history is an area that has always fascinated me and my family, so it was impossible for me to let this chance slip. Working at the Museum from March to May 2019, I have learnt so much regarding the intricate process of archiving and preparation for a museum collection; I was given the chance to work on some exciting projects and witnessed first-hand some extremely interesting military memorabilia and collections.

The photo on the left is an example of what I was able to work with. This is a folder comprised of copies of four World War One diaries composed by members of the Royal Dragoon Guards during the conflict. It was inspiring and unbelievably intriguing to read about these young men and their experiences during the Great War.

In one of the entries by H. Dyer, he celebrates his 30^th birthday whilst on active service in France and questions whether or not he will see his 31^st. In a diary by Captain A. Wright of 4^th Royal Dragoon Guards, he describes in vivid detail seeing one of the officers being shot through the neck whilst charging across a bridge at the German foe. Extracts like this are emotional to read and really emphasizes the importance of keeping these diaries safe so that the next generation is able to understand how catastrophic and damaging this war really was. Personally, I felt like I got to know the men in the diaries almost as a friend. Reading their experiences of victory, defeat and loss makes you feel as though you are listening to them face to face.

I got to work with a lot of different resources during my placement, but there was one specific thing that gave me a flavour of home. The photo to the right is a treaty between the Yorkshire Regiment and the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, my home town, providing the regiment the freedom of entry into the Borough. The reason why this intrigued me so much was because it isn’t that often that Stockton is recorded in the history of anything, never mind in a Museum. It made me feel more at home in a way whilst I was working here as I passed it every time on my way to the office, and it almost boosted me before the start of each day.

Overall, the placement has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience for me, and that’s not just down to the educational value but also the people who I worked with, all of which helped me in any way they could, showing me what, how and why I needed to do something. Being surrounded by people of similar interests really helped me in this placement, and I can’t thank them enough.

I-Spy: Guiding children at the York Army Museum

Freya Larder, a second-year history student, tells us more about her placement project at the York Army Museum where she carried out work creating educational resources for children.

For History, Community and Culture I carried out a project for the York Army Museum creating educational resources. This was a valuable and interesting experience. One of the most interesting things I have been a part of was creating two trails; one for younger children and one for older children based on the fun childhood game ‘I-Spy’. As a child, this was something I found incredibly fun and this made my project such an enjoyable experience. I have even started to build fact files from the most interesting objects found by the Junior Soldiers from the Army Foundation College at Harrogate to create a top ten most popular and interesting objects currently on display in the museum as a board on Pinterest. Even though this was not finished over the time of the project I am hoping to carry this on over the next few weeks.

Throughout my time at York Army Museum, I have visited on numerous occasions and found it extremely interesting. The object that stood out for me was the Dettingen Standard (pictured) which is thought to be one of the oldest British cavalry standard in existence from 1743 and became a part of one of my trail sheets.

This beautiful object has an extremely interesting history as it was present when George II fought at Dettingen in Bavaria in 1743 – the last time a British monarch personally led troops into battle. The flag was famously carried by Cornet Henry Richardson of Ligonier’s Horse – which has since become the Royal Dragoon Guards – who defended the Standard from the French and is said to have received 37 slashes to his uniform by either sword or bullet holes. The Standard was presented to him after the battle for his bravery and has been owned by his family ever since.

The York Army Museum is a wonderful opportunity to see some wonderful and rare objects right from the 1700s to the twenty first century. It is a wonderful place to visit for any age and it is a place where anyone would be captivated by history.