The Extraordinary and the Everyday: A Year in the Life of Avon Dassett, 1914-15

The project provided a 'real-time' First World War diary, via an online blog of events that happened in the small rural community of Avon Dassett - from the outbreak of conflict in August 1914 through to August 1915. It charted everyday life in the village; from flower shows to concerts, reactions to the war such as raising funds, housing Belgian refugees, training as first-aiders and repelling invaders; and the fates and fortunes of those who joined up from the village. Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the initiative involved ten village residents as its voluntary participants, with an end of project exhibition held at the Dassett Country Show in 2015. The photograph shows William Winthorpe Watts, a wartime resident of Avon Dassett.