Untold Stories: sharing stories across the generations

As part of The People's Heritage Co-operative's HLF funded project, 'Untold Stories: Birmingham's Wounded Soldiers from WW1', Year 8 pupils at Swanshurst School took part in a series of workshops with Rachel Gillies - Community Film Maker to learn how to conduct filmed oral history interviews.

In Soldiers Footsteps: Commemorating WW1 and the Somme

Often individual stories, especially in regards to the First World War, are lost when commemorating a big and significant part of history. The workshop I created for the Year 5 children at Paganel school was aimed at highlighting the individuals involved worldwide in the war and extracting their individual stories, not only of their experiences of war but their families, who were left behind.

The End of Reason 1916, in Schools now

'Lie of the land' - a site specific Big Brum drama
at Highbury Hall earlier this year

Big Brum Theatre in Education Company have started their autumn term tour into schools with their third World War One play, ‘Over The Top’. 

Summer 1916. 141 days of horror begin as the Battle of the Somme becomes one of the bloodiest conflicts in human history.  The play and Theatre in Education programme tells the story of a young Irish soldier joining up against the background of the Easter uprising in Dublin, as his childhood sweetheart is sent to a hospital receiving casualties from the first few days of the Battle of the Somme. 

Campaigning for our wounded soldiers

Find out more about Untold Stories

'Untold Stories' has unearthed a history which we in Birmingham can be proud of, in terms of medical treatment of  World War one soldiers, but also a history of prejudice and discrimination which is as relevant today as it was 100 years ago.

Re-telling untold stories

Unveiling our resources at Highbury Hall

Untold stories learning resource, about Birmingham's wounded soldiers from World War One, was formally launched on Tuesday 13th sept at Highbury Hall - one of the many military hospitals explored as part of the project.

Learning resource to be launched

Untold stories - Birmingham's wounded soldiers from WW1 learning resource to be launched this Tuesday, 13th September 6:30pm at Highbury Hall, one of more than military hospitals, local schools used as hospitals and auxiliary hospitals used in Birmingham during world war one.

Filming Untold Stories

So here I’m sat at my desk, looking through scores of photos and hours of footage, wondering how I’m going to pull so much fantastic stuff together.  My job, you see, is to turn all of the lectures, interviews, workshops and explorations we have undertaken through our ‘Untold Stories’ project into a finished film for our launch on 13^th September.