A-Z Challenge: V is for…

Over the course of April we are exploring the studies registered with the Society for One-Place Studies featuring those that correspond to the relevant letter of the alphabet.

What is a One Place Study? That is a fine question and rather than me explain, I will refer you to the Society’s informative website. If you are interested in joining us and /or registering a study we of course welcome you. You can find the joining information HERE.

V is for...

Victory: Following on from our post J for Joint, I am going to talk about our current joint project. This project links to V for Victory but not without a price. At the end of the First World War, the allied Nations were indeed victorious but the price was twofold. A generation of men (and some women) experienced such horrors that their lives were not the same again. Simultaneously, families and communities were ripped apart by the demise of thousands and thousands of men and women who fought in the battles for King and Country.

The Joint Project for 2014 is, as one might expect, about the centenary of the commencement of the Great War; the war that everyone believed would be over by Christmas. As we know that was sadly not to be.

Through this project we can drill down into the details of our communities. We can explore the fate of men who appear on memorials that I believe are in every village, town and city in the land, bar one. (If someone can tell me the name of the village that does not have a memorial I would be delighted!) We can also gather information on those who fought and were lucky enough to survive and return to their families. Their lives were altered beyond comprehension, but they did return.

Our hangout on air, earlier this year, provides more details. Members of the Society can download an inspiration sheet on some things to look at for their communities. I have been involved with One-Place studies for several decades and there were certainly things that I had not considered. Who said you cannot teach an old dog new tricks?

Even if you are not a member of the Society, or perhaps you are a member but not taking part in the study, look at your local community. Where is your War Memorial? How many of your community are listed on the memorial? How many of those folk share the same surname, which means that a family, extended or otherwise, was effected? Think about the attributes that we have now, that have been achieved on the back of the First World War.

Why don’t you consider and explore your community? Maybe you can come back, leave a comment and share what you have discovered.

Julie Goucher, A-Z Challenge Coordinator