In a year when the pandemic has limited our contact with others, it’s been stimulating to connect with new partners and think creatively about engaging people with the Second World War. Northern Ireland and conflict make most people think of the Troubles – local stories of the Second World War are often untold or unheard. 

In this guest post, SSN Member Steve Ballinger of British Future tells us about a project in collaboration with The Royal British Legion, that aims to bring people from different backgrounds together in remembrance of our shared history.

The War Illustrated was a British magazine published in the two world wars. In this guest post, University of Sheffield student Jennifer Arnold tells us about her research into First World War editions of the magazine, with a focus on the representation of Red Cross nurses.

The Central Office of Information (COI) was created 75 years ago, producing films and campaigns to share key messages with the British population. In this post, Michelle Kirby (IWM Film Curator, Cold War/late 20th-century conflict), Sarah Castagnetti (TNA, Visual Collections), and Patrick Russell (BFI Senior Curator, Non-fiction) explain how they are teaming up for an ambitious new project showcasing highlights from their COI collections.

Guest blog by Paula Kolar, Second World War and Holocaust Partnership Programme Digital Intern

On 10 May 1941, Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess flew solo to Scotland to try to broker peace with Britain. Following on from Katherine Quinlan-Flatter's post, British historian Linda Parker picks up the extraordinary story of Hess' flight, and the aftermath.

On 10 May 1941, Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess flew solo to Scotland to try to broker peace with Britain. German researcher and journalist Katherine Quinlan-Flatter tells us more about Hess' role in Nazi Germany and the events leading up to his flight 80 years ago.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the creation of the Greenham Common Peace Camp in 1981. As part of her work placement, student Celia Oultram-Turner researched IWM collections on this topic and in this blog shares some of her highlights.

The Devil’s Porridge Museum have recently embarked on an ambitious new project called ‘The Miracle Workers Research Project’, which aims to find out more about the 30,000 individuals involved at HM Factory Gretna during the First World War. Research Assistant Laura Noakes tells us more in this guest blog post.

Our first project for this latest blog instalment is The Bravest Little Street in England – Chapel Street, Altrincham. This was organised by the Trafford Local Studies and Archives, Trafford Council.

How do we make history come alive? For some of us, online records and archival research can provide fascinating insights into past lives. For others, photographs, films and objects may trigger thoughts and emotions in a way that official records fail to do. Fortunately for us, institutions such as Imperial War Museums (IWM) bring together a wide range of approaches to understanding the past.

IWM’s ‘Mapping the Centenary’ Portal and database represents a positive move in the direction of good professional practice for protecting digital content and outputs. Whilst the portal signposts content rather than preserves it, giving advice about digital sustainability to all participating First World War Centenary projects (such as through the University of Glasgow published report Saving the Centenary’s Digital Heritage) adds another layer of longer-term public access.