Remembrance at The Hive

4th November 2018

Coinciding with the centenary of the end of the First World War, a new exhibition is in The Hive, and special events are planned for the 9^th and 10^th November.

The People’s Collection arrived at The Hive this week, and runs until 12 November, having visited venues across Worcestershire since May 2018. The exhibition features letters, photographs and objects loaned by people across the County and has been four years in the making.

The Worcestershire World War One Hundred programme, led by Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service, received the largest Heritage Lottery Fund grant for a World War One commemoration outside London, to tell the stories of Worcestershire people, their involvement with and personal legacy from the war. Throughout this time people from across the county have been invited to share their family stories about the contribution the county and its people made to the First World War and it is these contributions which will be on show in The People’s Collection.

The touring exhibition has visited Bromsgrove Library, Redditch Library, Malvern Library, Bewdley Museum, Number 8 and The Almonry Heritage Centre before coming together at The Hive in Worcester from 30 October. Each exhibition has featured stories relevant to that specific location as well as information relevant to the County as a whole.

Gillian Roberts, Archivist and Worcestershire World War One Hundred Project Officer said: “The people of Worcestershire have been hugely generous in sharing their family stories with us and we have created a fantastic record of the impact World War One had on our County from what was happening at the Front to developments back home in medicine all with personal insight.

“There has been an incredible response to the exhibition in each of the different parts of the County and we are delighted to bring all these stories together at The Hive to coincide with Armistice. We hope that people across Worcestershire and beyond make time to visit The People’s Collection and experience Worcestershire War for themselves.”

Gillian Roberts with the trench shovel belonging to the Purser Family

From Bromsgrove the exhibition features stories on what it is like for VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) Nurses through the letters of Rachel Lyttelton. The letters she wrote through the war years give a unique glimpse of life during the war. The Redditch exhibition includes information about the Royal Enfield motorcycles used at the front and the military tribunals which reveal the lives of conscripted men.

The trench shovel featured in the exhibition was from Malvern and belongs to the Purser Family of Welland. In Bewdley, with help from the Bewdley Historical Society, the exhibition gathered information about people from the Wyre Forest and uncovered the mystery of a WWI army issue spoon found in a back garden in Kidderminster, and includes the story of the three members of the Tarrant family who served in the army, navy and munitions.

From Pershore the exhibition includes the Sladden family of Badsey and the Belgian refugees who found sanctuary in the area. The exhibition also features Voluntary Aid Detachments hospitals including the one at Evesham Abbey and the role of German Prisoners of War in the surrounding farms.

For details on The People’s Collection at The Hive as well as the full list of Armistice events taking place across the County visit http://www.ww1worcestershire.co.uk/

Remembrance at The Hive
Friday 9 November, 10am – 8.30pm
A day of remembrance and commemoration. Throughout the day join Discover History and the Worcestershire World War One Hundred Bell Tent in the atrium to find out more about the First World War at Home and at the Front.

At 6pm join members of Dancefest’s Worcester Gifted and Talented group and Worcestershire Junior Youth Dance Company for a free performance of When They Come Home… This moving dance piece, created with choreographer Clare Wood, explores the support of the soldiers for each other during World War One and how this support helped them to get through horrendous and unimaginable times.

At 6.30pm there will be another chance to watch the iconic 1916 film The Battle of the Somme featuring the acclaimed score by Laura Rossi. This screening is FREE however booking is required: https://e-services.worcestershire.gov.uk/LibraryEvents/EventDetails.aspx?id=570

Still from the film, Battle of The Ancre

Saturday 10 November, 10am – 4pm
Drop in to The Hive to visit the People’s Collection and see the Worcestershire World War One Hundred Bell Tent. During the day you can view the wall of handcrafted poppies, representing Worcestershire men and women who lost their lives in the Great War, and get involved with family activities including making your own poppies.

From 1pm drop into three talks focussed on World War One including:

At 1pm – Paul Hudson talking about the All Saints Worcester War Memorial. Find out how a community went about commemorating the men of the parish who didn’t return. How did they decide what to do, who was involved, how did they raise the money, what happened when plans had to be changed, and who are the men it names? Within the archives are the rare survival of minutes of a war memorial committee, which helps tell the story. Book here: https://e-services.worcestershire.gov.uk/LibraryEvents/EventDetails.aspx?id=531
All Saints war memorial
At 2pm – Gillian Roberts exploring stories from Worcestershire’s First World War featured in The People’s Collection followed by Sarah Ganderton talking about Worcestershire’s Health and the First World War. Book here: https://e-services.worcestershire.gov.uk/LibraryEvents/EventDetails.aspx?id=571

At 4pm there is another chance to view The Battle of the Ancre and the Advance of The Tanks (1916), a little-known masterpiece of British non-fiction cinema which documents the autumn and winter stages of the Somme campaign on the Western Front. Book here: https://e-services.worcestershire.gov.uk/LibraryEvents/EventDetails.aspx?id=572