Australian Airman, born and buried in Birmingham

Our research of World War One Soldiers at Lodge Hill Cemetery has uncovered many stories from across the world. Harry Taylor was born in Birmingham, but traveled to Australia when he was young.  He served throughout World War One and died in England just before the war ended.

What can little ones do in War time?

It is rare to hear the voice of children in any century.  The Birmingham Weekly Mercury's children's competition in 1915 on the theme 'What can the Little Ones do in War Time?', offers an insight to life in Birmingham during the war through children's eyes.  First prize of half a crown was awarded to Irene Harrison (age 13) from 145 Ladypool Road, Sparkbrook, one of six children from a widowed mother.

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.

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.

Untold stories – sites of treatment

Great Hall, University of Birmingham

In late 1914 plans were made to establish auxiliary hospitals in large private houses across Birmingham, predominantly in the south of the city. While we found out a lot about some sites in the city that were used as hospitals during the First World War (i.e. the University of Birmingham, Highbury Hall in Moseley), others were initially more mysterious.

Untold Stories event 14 May

We have now rescheduled Dr Sian Robert's archive workshop, part of the Untold Stories project, for May 14, 2-4pm in the Library of Birmingham, Wolfson Centre (Floor 4).

This event is free and open to the public but numbers are limited so please contact Nicola Gauld at the People’s Heritage Co-operative if you would like to come along: peoplesheritagecoop@googlegroups.com

Untold Stories events

Gym, Highbury Hospital, Reproduced with permission of the Library of Birmingham

A series of talks will be held in February and March 2016, open to members of the public as well as Co-operative members. Do please get in touch if you would be interested in volunteering for this project, or have any family stories that you'd be willing to share.

HLF fund untold stories of Birmingham's injured soldiers

Soldiers at Highbury Hospital in Moseley. 

Reproduced with permission of the Library of Birmingham

We are pleased to announce Untold Stories: Birmingham's Wounded Soldiers from WW1, a new project funded by a Heritage Lottery Fund First World War Then and Now grant. The project will focus on the untold stories of soldiers returning to Birmingham from the Great War with serious physical and psychological injuries. It will map the sites of hospital treatment and convalescence that were set up in the city and will explore what happened to the soldiers after their treatment ended.

My family in World War 1

It's hard to appreciate what life might have been like 100 years ago.  Until recently I knew nothing about  Heinrich Hoenen, my Great Grandfather who died in 1941 when my Mother was 2 years old.  Here's a clip of my Mum talking about him, some photos and an extract from an Obituary in the newsletter of the Lutheran Parishes Osnabrueck (1941):

listen to ‘Heinrich Hoenen’ on audioBoom

"...Early in life when only 9 years old, he lost his father. Five years later his mother also died. 

Following his father's death, his mother moved with her children to Lengerich in Westphalia.  Of the six children four died in very early childhood, leaving only two brothers who loved each other dearly - Heinrich and Leonard.  Upon their mother's death the family was torn apart. Heinrich Hoenen became an apprentice to a master-saddler who also took him into his home as a foster-son... 

Heinrich was a dispatch rider during WW1

...[Heinrich married and was] blessed with four children. However, they were not spared devastating heartache, having to bury one son at an early age (Walter, 22/12/1912 - 19/12/1920 - died in the 'Spanish' flu epidemic that swept across Europe after the war). 

Heinrich Hoenen served in the First World War from 1914 - 1918. In the very first year of the war he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse). He returned as Warrant Officer (Offizier-Stellvertreter).  The war was over; but in what state did he find our beloved fatherland and, in particular, Alsace-Lorraine (Elsass-Lothringen), Hoenen's second home! The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Haus in Metz had to be vacated immediately. Because of his German nationality Hoenen was forced to leave by the French, along with his family, having to abandon almost all of their possessions. Where should they go? He found a place to stay in Osnabrueck, and thus a new home. These few words contain much sorrow and pain that can hardly be appreciated by outsiders..."

Heinrich with his wife and family

My mother is translating his book 'The Guiding Hand' into English - as I don't speak German, I'm looking forward to reading more.

Uncovering Birmingham WW1 history with Paganel School

Looking at World War 1 Memorials at Lodge Hill Cemetery

Dr Nicola Gauld writes:

Paganel Primary School is unique in that it has its own archive and its Year 6 pupils are well versed in research, collecting evidence and making connections between events in history. The warfare project which took place in June made great use of these skills. The school is situated close to Lodge Hill Cemetery which has its own First World War memorial where victims of the war who died at the Southern Cross Hospital (located at the University of Birmingham’s campus at Edgbaston) are buried.

This formed the focus of this week-long project. The week began with pupils looking at archive material to establish what the pupils already knew about the First World War (quite a lot), what they knew about Birmingham’s experience during the war (a bit less) and what they would like to find out by the end of the week (what the experience of children was like, what food and clothing was like at the time, what weapons were used).

The following day the class worked in two groups, both visited Lodge Hill with question sheets relating to the men and women buried there while the second group carried out research using the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site. While some of the dead had been Birmingham residents before they joined the war or had joined the Royal Warwickshire regiment, we discovered that many had come from much further afield, from Australia and Canada for example, but also that there was a Maori soldier buried there. This helped the pupils appreciate the war in its global context, as well as the different regiments and the different jobs that could be done as part of the war effort.

Creating a storyline from photos

On the final day we used the archive material and research we had gathered to create stories, thinking about what life was like back then for the soldiers stuck in the trenches, children living in Birmingham, nurses and women munitions workers. It was clear that the children had absorbed and taken on the stories that they had learned about earlier in the week and were able to deal with the subject in a sensitive and mature manner. The stories each group devised were then presented to the rest of the class, teachers and head teacher. Overall, it was a really positive project, dealing with difficult and challenging subject matter, and the response of each pupil was impressive. Lots of questions were raised and there is certainly the potential to extend this into a larger scale project which could make a valuable contribution to the commemoration of the war’s centenary.

Using a green screen to project children into archive photographs