Birmingham Children of War

'Birmingham Children of War' was a project run by the Friends of Birmingham Archives and Heritage, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Marking the centenary of the First World War, the project enabled local people to come together to focus on uncovering the largely untold story of children’s experience of war from a Birmingham perspective. The initiative enlisted the help of local volunteers to research archival resources, primarily held in Birmingham's archives within the Library of Birmingham, to find examples of what life was like for a child living at that time, and to show the impact that the war had upon their day-to-day lives. The final output was a Learning Guide for use by others researching the topic and an associated exhibition which was shown widely around Birmingham at community libraries, in addition to forming part of a major exhibition at the Library of Birmingham. In total about twenty volunteers were involved, with a core group of eight who attended regular research and training sessions. Over two hundred people attended the final showcase event in March 2017 held at the Library of Birmingham - this involved the launch of the learning guide and exhibition, a display and discovery trail for children, craft activities and a choir performance. The photograph shows a post-war parade float.