The National Archives in Britain offers an extensive resource for anyone researching WW1.
Its website has a section dedicated to WW1 Education with topics exploring why Britain went to war, the conflict itself as well as its controversies (with one section focussing on the ‘Lions led by Donkeys?’ question regarding the relationship between commanders and troops or an insight into soldiers executed for dereliction of duty).
The following extracts taken from theArchives’ website states the aims of the Great War Exhibition ‘galleries’ (sections of the website):
“The Great War is a topic that still excites huge interest among young students and the general public. It also continues to provoke debate among academic historians. Add to this is an enduring fascination with the Great War on the part of the media, often rooted in popular perceptions shaped by film, poetry and other media, and we have a winning subject for historical study.
- To get students to think about popular perceptions of the Great War, how these have changed over time, and how far historians support these perceptions
- To examine original sources and how these have been used to support different viewpoints and perspectives on the Great War
- To give students a feel for the complexity of the Great War and the scale of its impact on those who fought in it and those of us affected by its legacy today.
The Great War was a world war and wherever possible we acknowledge the activities and contributions of people from around the world. However, because this exhibition is written for British school children, we take a British viewpoint in describing events.”
To visit the National Archives website, click here.
Images courtesy of the National Archives website.