A partnership between Imperial War Museum North, Terry Deary and Scholastic Children’s Books
Special Exhibitions Gallery 24 May 2008 – 4 January 2009. FREE.

“Of all the history in all the world the story of the First World War – also known as the Great War – is perhaps the most horrible. It’s a story of what happens when machines go to war and human beings get in the way.  But it’s also a story of courage and craziness, brave people and batty people, friendships and fierce hatreds, love ... and lice.”
 (Terry Deary, Horrible Histories: Frightful First World War)

Imperial War Museum North presents an unmissable family exhibition, specially designed for younger visitors, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War. Based on Frightful First World War, one of the most popular books in the Horrible Histories™ series by Scholastic Children’s Books, (the world’s best-selling history series for children) the exhibition sets author Terry Deary’s powerful words and artist Martin Brown’s acerbic illustrations alongside Imperial War Museum’s unrivalled collections, to tell the stories of the men and women, servicemen and civilians, who shaped and endured what was described as the war to end all wars.

Follow the Frightful First World War timeline and see rare objects, art, film and photographs to find out dire details of a war that affected everyone – from peace-loving protestors to suffering soldiers and civilians. Find out about the horrors and hardships of the war that was meant to last four months but ground on for four grim years. Get a first look at illustrations from the forthcoming Horrible Histories Handbook - Trenches (published by Scholastic Children’s Books this September), which has been specially commissioned to coincide with this landmark exhibition.

Discover how the woeful war made people tell lies, how the enemies in the trenches stopped fighting to play friendly football matches and how the war brought foul food and worse water. Find out how soldiers dealt with fierce flies, lovely lice, gruesome gas, sickness and sores. Explore who wore what where in the war and what their curious clothing felt like. Smell the stenches, disguise yourself in a camouflage tree and peer into no man’s land with a periscope in a large-scale trench, specially drawn for the exhibition, by the Horrible Histories’ artist Martin Brown. Discover the sport of beetle racing, how women’s roles changed beyond recognition and how “Daft Dora” introduced new rotten rules – would you have known which ones to obey?

See rare objects first hand such as Kaiser Wilhelm II’s greatcoat (especially made for him to accommodate his shorter left arm) on public display for the first time.  Other highlights from the IWM collections visit IWM North for the first time  such as a half- ton German Trench Mortar (with traces of original camouflage paint), the helmet which King George V wore to visit the Western Front, a letter from Siegfried Sassoon (written in Craiglockhart War Hospital while being treated for “Shell Shock”), a collection of documents relating to the famous Christmas truce, the pen which signed the prolongation armistice, original signs from trenches and even German toilet paper! View unique footage of female munition workers playing football in their leisure time in 1918 and much, much more!

Discover how almost every family in Britain, France, Germany and Russia lost someone, search for memorials in your area and find out if your family name is on the Commonwealth War Graves register in Your History on the ground floor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See, hear, smell and learn about the First World War through ropey rhymes and sad songs, sinister superstitions and frightful facts in a great free day out for all of the family.

Horrible Histories™ author Terry Deary says “Horrible Histories are black comedy for young readers so the First World War is an appropriate subject. It was the gallows' humour of the people that helped them survive the horrors. It's a lesson in how humanity copes with the worst the world can throw at us. That's what education should be about - preparing us for life, the horrible as well as the good.”

Jim Forrester, Director of Imperial War Museum North says “It certainly was a horrible war and Terry Deary communicates this in a way that every youngster will respond to and many already know well. By putting Terry’s words and Martin Brown’s wonderful illustrations alongside the Imperial War Museum’s collections and photographs, we  will be creating a poignant and memorable experience for young and old alike in this 90th anniversary year. ”

Lisa Edwards, publisher of the Horrible Histories™ series at Scholastic Children’s Books says “We are delighted that Imperial War Museum North have given us this opportunity to see our First World War title brought to life with artefacts from their incredible collection, bringing the human story of the War to a wider audience”.

THE FIRST WORLD WAR ON PERMANENT DISPLAY AT IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM NORTH
Visit the Main Exhibition Space at Imperial War Museum North to see iconic First World War objects and stories on permanent display. These include the 13-pounder field gun that fired Britain’s very first shell of the First World War, the bell from the British passenger liner Lusitania (torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine while on the way back to Liverpool from New York), and personal effects belonging to Edith Cavell (the red cross nurse shot at dawn in Belgium for assisting allied servicemen to safety). Get hands-on with the Trench Action Station interactive to explore the terrible conditions in the trenches through “feely boxes” and smells to experience what creatures (creepy crawlies included) and terrible stenches would have kept the soldiers company.

Horrible Histories™: Frightful First World War – The Exhibition is sponsored by Vimto.  
“As part of Vimto's 100 year celebrations we are proud to be sponsoring such an exciting and high profile exhibition in Manchester. The Old Trafford area of Manchester has a very special resonance with Vimto's history and we are delighted to be supporting Imperial War Museum North in 2008."  Matt Nichols, Vimto.

Notes to editors

IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM MARKS 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE END OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR
2008 is a significant year for the Imperial War Museum as it marks the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War with a series of exhibitions and events to commemorate the experiences of those who lived, fought and died in the ‘war to end all wars’. The anniversary is also an important milestone in the Imperial War Museum’s own history as it was founded during the First World War as ‘a lasting memorial of common effort and common sacrifice’ to those who played their part in the conflict in which over 700,000 British servicemen lost their lives. Events include:

In Memoriam: Remembering the Great War runs at Imperial War Museum London from September 2008 and commemorated the armistice through individual experiences of men, women and children.

The Last Post: Remembering The First World War is at the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms from October 2008 and examines wartime correspondence and the important role played by the Royal Mail during the First World War.

ABOUT TERRY DEARY
Terry Deary is the author of 185 books in the UK mainly for children and teenagers. His books are sold in 38 languages from Russia to Brazil, Scandinavia to China. He was born in Sunderland, England, in 1946 and now lives in County Durham, in the North-east of England. Terry is a former actor, theatre-director and museum manager.
In 32 years as an author his writing has included fiction for juniors and teenagers, and popular non-fiction series (Horrible Histories, being the best-selling with over 20 million worldwide.)  In 2000 a Schoolsnet survey made him the most borrowed British author in school libraries while a Guardian survey of March 05 made him Britain’s fifth most popular living children’s author for more information see http://www.terry-deary.com/homepage/biog.htm

ABOUT HORRIBLE HISTORIES™
Horrible Histories™ is the world’s best-selling history series for children. The first books were published in 1993 and the series has gone on to sell over 20 million copies globally, in 37 countries and 31 languages. By focusing on the “nasty bits” of history, author Terry Deary’s irreverent humour and Martin Brown’s witty cartoons have made history accessible and entertaining for children of all ages. www.horrible-histories.co.uk

ABOUT SCHOLASTIC
Scholastic UK Ltd (www.scholastic.co.uk) is part of Scholastic Inc, the largest publisher and distributor of children's books in the world.  Scholastic UK Ltd has three divisions: Scholastic Book Clubs and Fairs, Scholastic Children's Books and Scholastic Education.

As a distributor of children's books through Scholastic Book Clubs and Fairs, Scholastic is the biggest children's specialist bookseller in the UK and Ireland with unparalleled reach to children through schools, increasing opportunities for reading and book ownership for children in the UK and Ireland and donating two million books to schools in 2005. Scholastic Children's Books publishes a wide range of books for all ages, including best-sellers and award-winners such as the Horrible Histories series and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, the Baby Einstein books and Klutz's innovative book and craft packs.

Scholastic Education is the UK's market-leading publisher of print and electronic resources for teachers.  It offers professional and classroom support that meets teacher's needs and provides them with inspiration for their lessons through its website; through its range of popular teacher magazines including Nursery Education, Child Education, and Junior Education; and through its teacher’s resource books including such best-selling titles as 100 Literacy Hours – part of a the 100s series which has sold over 700,000 copies since launch in 1998.

For further press information contact Alyx Price, Group PR Director, Scholastic UK Ltd 020 7756 7777 aprice@scholastic.co.uk