Groups
Head4Arts worked with a wide range of community groups from across the South East Wales Valleys region during the Who Do I Think I Was? project.
Participating groups: Blaenau Gwent Rhythm and Ukes, Blaenau Gwent Senior Youth Theatre, Caerphilly Parents Network (Nant y Parc & Trethomas), Cwmbran High School, Dowlais Visual Arts Group, Merthyr Tydfil Library Service Community Writing Squad, Thornhill Craft Group (Cwmbran) and Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni
Blaenau Gwent Rhythm & Ukes
Music played an important role during the First World War both on the war front and at home. It was often used as a form of propaganda with songs such as “We Don’t Want To Lose You But We Think You Ought To Go” being popular in British Music Halls.
Soldiers in the troops would sing songs to keep their spirits up and to entertain themselves during long breaks between battles. Soldiers frequently re-wrote the lyrics of popular songs, often using this as an opportunity to poke fun at their superiors or to vent their frustrations. The tunes were comic and sometimes colourful versions of the originals.
Taking inspiration from troops, Blaenau Gwent Rhythm & Ukes group have re-written the lyrics of two popular World War One Songs, putting a modern twist on this tradition. They have also recorded their own versions of some classic tunes from the era.
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Pack up your troubles / It's a long way to Tipperary
Blaenau Gwent Rhythm & Ukes
Blaenau Gwent Senior Youth Theatre Group
Conscription was introduced in January 1916, initially this was targeted towards single men aged between 18 – 41 years but was soon extended to include married men.
Those who believed they should be exempt from military service could make an appeal to a local Military Tribunal Service. Appeals were often made on the grounds of religious or moral beliefs, poor health or being employed in an occupation which contributed to the war effort.
Inspired by records held at Gwent Archives, Blaenau Gwent Senior Youth Theatre have dramatized a scene at a military tribunal which has been recorded as a short film.
The youth theatre created a second short film that shows the relationship between a young woman on the home-front and a soldier in the trenches based on a series of original letters that they had examined.
Caerphilly Parents Network (Nant y Parc & Trethomas)
An efficient postal service was considered vital to the war effort as it was believed that regular contact with home was essential for morale. It is reported that the General Post Office delivered up to 12 million letters per week to soldiers during the First World War.
Silk embroidered postcards, predominantly made in France, became very popular with British soldiers who sent them home to loved ones. The hand embroidered cards often display patriotic designs, using images and colours of the Allied Forces flags.
During the project, Nant-y-Parc and Trethomas Caerphilly Parents Network groups learned new craft techniques to create replica postcards based on original designs.
Cwmbran High School
Research trips to Gwent Archives prompted pupils to create short monologues exploring the thoughts and feelings of some of the different characters who lived in the area during the First World War. These monologues were later performed and filmed.
Through their research they learned about the importance of industry, reflected by their depictions of women working in munitions factories and of those who had protected occupations.
The pupils were interested to find out about the treatment of Belgian refugees in Valleys communities, making modern day comparisons between the portrayal of migrants in contemporary society.
A series of letters sent between a soldier on the front and his sweetheart at home helped the pupils to imagine the heartache of war.
Dowlais Visual Arts Groups
Following their visit to Glamorgan Archives, the Dowlais Visual Arts group decided to explore, through the medium of creative writing, what life would have been like for different people living through the difficult times of the First World War.
A series of poems and stories were written from a range of perspectives, including nurses, soldiers, school teachers and Belgian refugees. The group then experimented with paper-cutting techniques to create artworks to illustrate their writings.
Merthyr Tydfil Library Service Community Writing Squad
Everyone was expected to “do their bit” to help towards the war effort, including children. This involved assisting with household chores, growing vegetables, knitting items to send to soldiers at the front and helping to raise funds for local and national charities.
A study of school log books prompted the Merthyr Tydfil Library Service Community Writing Squad to write poems and stories based on the experiences of young people during the First World War. They also explored the ways in which the war affected adults, writing additional pieces from the perspective of soldiers and nurses.
Thornhill Craft Group, Cwmbran
During World War 1, wounded soldiers recovering from their injuries would often make sweetheart pincushions to send back home to their loved ones as tokens of affection. The materials could be purchased in kits that contained beads, threads and fabric. Poems and military badges were also used to decorate and personalise the pin cushions.
The Thornhill Craft Group has used some of the original designs to inspire the creation of their own sweetheart pin cushions.
Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni
Research trips to Gwent Archives prompted pupils to create short monologues exploring the thoughts and feelings of some of the different characters who lived in the area during the First World War. These monologues were later performed and filmed.
Through their research they learned about the importance of industry, reflected by their depictions of women working in munitions factories and of those who had protected occupations.
The pupils were interested to find out about the treatment of Belgian refugees in Valleys communities, making modern day comparisons between the portrayal of migrants in contemporary society.
A series of letters sent between a soldier on the front and his sweetheart at home helped the pupils to imagine the heartache of war.
