Bury Remembers the First World War

During the First World War there were five newspapers in print in and around Bury. Bury Libraries and Archives had conserved and provided access to these historical resources, but only being available on microfilm, they had to be viewed on-site at the Libraries. Our project therefore took on a team of around twenty five volunteers to digitise the newspapers and extract relevant information, over a three year period. Information about local soldiers, including photographs, their last recorded address and obituaries where applicable, were mapped together into a database and all made available via a new dedicated website. Content from thousands of individual historical articles were also extracted and made available as part of the website's overall resources. We additionally held several events throughout Bury; delivering learning activities in local secondary schools and holding workshop events at Bury Art Gallery. This involved working closely with 'The Bury Collective', a group of local artists who used the extracted information as inspiration for over one hundred pieces of art exhibited for a limited time at The Met in Bury. The entire project was funded by the Heritage Lottery’s 'Your Heritage' scheme.