The Battle of Britain is one of the most important events in the history of Britain. But understanding those who were there, who fought, suffered and endured, allows us not only to understand those events, but connect us directly to those ‘few’ who gave so much not only to the many, but to all future generations.

In 2018 as part of the 1418 NOW programme, Shobana Jeyasingh premiered their project ‘Contagion’ at the Gynamisum Gallery in Berwick-upon-Tweed and then toured across the UK. It explored the impact of the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic, which killed more people than World War One. The performance explores the speed in which a virus can spread and its destructive nature to the body.

The chance find of an evocative photograph launched me on a quest to trace the lives and deaths of ten men and their family before and after the war. Of these ten Sandhurst officer cadets, three won the Military Cross and one became a general. Incidentally, all my subjects volunteered during the first two weeks of September 1914. However, like thousands of other volunteers, some in this group became casualties before they made any contribution to the war. There were also those who for various reasons sought a way out. Here are some of their stories.

Our third Case Study project is ‘BAME Seafarers in the First World War’, which was coordinated by the University of Portsmouth.

In this first of a two-part blog, we hear from commemorative projects that have submitted listings for our digital portal, Mapping the Centenary. We invited contributors to reveal greater detail about the topics of their respective activities, what they sought to achieve, as well as to share a few ‘best practice’ tips based on their experiences.

What comes to mind when you think of art looted during wartime? Or the kind of weapons used during the Second World War? In both cases, swords are probably not your first choice.

Wartime London in Paintings tells the story of the artists commissioned by the War Artists Advisory Committee (WAAC) who lived and worked in London and how they interacted with the Committee to produce a body of work which today gives us a fresh insight into the city’s wartime history.

The lockdown and coronavirus restrictions in the spring of 2020 brought about many changes in lifestyles. As I could no longer travel in Britain and Europe, I resolved to walk five miles each day in and around Rogerstone.

During the Battle of France, which takes place from May 10 to June 25, 1940, the German army wedges the British Expeditionary Force and parts of the French army into the Channel area at the northern coast of France. The Germans’ rapid invasion of France is the result of a “sickle-cut attack”, from the north through Holland, coordinated with thrusts through the weak points of the Maginot Line in Belgium, and advancing through the Ardennes up to northern France.

Over a four year period, Britain and countries around the world commemorated the centenary of the First World War. What took placebetween August 2014 and November 2018 evidenced the enduring impacts and aftermath of this twentieth century conflict upon communities, regions and nations.

On 6 August 1945, Allied forces dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. The detonation of these weapons killed thousands of people instantly and many more continued to suffer the effects of radiation poisoning. In this post, we share the testimonies of three women who were directly affected by the dropping of the atomic bombs, as interviewed by artist Lee Karen Stow.

From 7th September 1940, London was bombed by the German Air Force for 57 consecutive nights. The resulting devastation altered the landscape and the character of the city beyond all recognition. Over 40,000 people were killed; churches, houses, shops and offices were reduced to rubble.