First World War Websites : 14 to 18 years
First World War Encyclopaedia: A comprehensive encyclopaedia of the First World War. Each entry contains a narrative, illustrations and primary sources. The text within each entry is hypertexted to other relevant pages in the encyclopedia. In this way it is possible to research individual people and events in great detail. The sources are also hypertexted so the student is able to find out about the writer, artist, newspaper, organization, etc., that produced the material. So far the following sections are available: Chronology (1), Outbreak of War (22), Countries (22), Allied Armed Forces (32), Important Battles (34), Technology (10), Political Leaders (94), British Home Front (20), Military Leaders (58), Life in the Trenches (24), Trench System (22), Trench War (18), Soldiers (74), War Heroes (12), Medals (8), War at Sea (24), War in the Air (48), Pilots (28), Aircraft (30), War Artists (34), Cartoonists and Illustrators (90), War Poets (16), Journalists (28), Newspapers and Journals (16), Novelists (36), Women at War (56), Women's Organisations (14), Weapons & War Machines (42), Inventors and the War (12) Theatres of War (6) and War Statistics (18).
People of the Great War: A new free educational resource from the Imperial War Museum, this website features short films, original photographs, posters, documents and a range of great teaching ideas for schools. Two major exhibitions open at the Imperial War Museum this year telling the stories of those who lived, fought and died in the First World War: In Memoriam: Remembering the Great War (An exhibition exploring the personal stories of those who experienced the Great War through rarely-seen objects from the Museum’s unrivalled First World War collections) and Horrible Histories (A family-friendly exhibition exploring the First World War through Terry Deary’s words and Martin Brown’s illustrations alongside objects from the Museum’s collections).
First World War Digital Archive: The web site is packed with images of manuscripts and letters of Owen, Graves, Rosenberg, Thomas, Brittain, and Leighton - and over this year we will be adding Blunden, Jones, Gurney, and Sassoon. It has online tutorials, resource packs, 'paths' all ready to use and aimed across English & History KS1-4, A level, and UG teaching. It also has tools to allow teachers and students to make their own resources. In addition to the poetry, there are several hundred photographs, audio clips, and film clips related to the War drawn from the Imperial War Museum's collections and there is the Great War Archive - 6,500 items submitted by the public to do with their family's experience during the War. It's all free to use, and the licence allows you to download anything you want and to use it for educational purposes.
Trenches on the Web: Trenches on the Web is an evolving project being developed by Mike Lavorone in the USA. New material is being added all the time and this reflects the concerns and interests of the people who use the site and are willing to send information to the webmaster. Lavorone describes himself as the trench-keeper ("a history technician, not a historian, recording these events with the tools currently available"). Students can explore a wide variety of themes and topics. It is also possible to look at certain issues in great detail. The range and display of statistics in this website is especially impressive. The visitor is never allowed to forget the human tragedy of this conflict and heart-rendering photographs appear next to the tables and graphs on the screen.
First World War Open Directory: The Open Directory follows in the footsteps of some of the most important contributor projects of the 20th century. Just as the Oxford English Dictionary became the definitive word on words through the efforts of a volunteers, the Open Directory follows in its footsteps to become the definitive catalog of the Web. The Open Directory was founded in the spirit of the Open Source movement, and is the only major directory that is 100% free. Its directory of the First World War contains 356 websites: General Accounts (29), Armed Forces (12), Personalities (113), Theatres of Operation (51), Regional (85), Aviation (25), Art and Literature (24) and Aftermath (11).
The Aerodrome: Aces and Aircraft of World War I: Scott Hamilton is responsible for this beautifully designed and easy to use website. As the title suggests, the website contains details of all the main First World War aces and aircraft. The database includes biographies of aces from sixteen different countries. The entries are extremely detailed and very good use is made of hypertexted links. Other features include a Discussion, Forum and Today in History, where information is provided on all the significant events that took place on that particular date during the war.
BBC History interactive: World War One: This BAFTA award-winning BBC History interactive website offers the chance to explore the human face of the First World War. Discover what life was like in the trenches and on the Home Front through dramatizations of original diaries, letters and photographs through interactive movies. Leading academics such as Gary Sheffield, Joanna Bourke and Stephen Badsey answer the key questions: why did the First World War start? Were the men really lions led by donkeys? And, ultimately, what was the impact on society? You can explore original documents and take a virtual tour of a 3-D trench system, whilst animated maps of the Western Front highlight the movements of the armies and the key battles.
Cecil Slack's War: Andrew Moore has producing an outstanding website on the letters and diaries of Cecil Slack, a soldier who took part in the First World War. As well as Slack's own writings the website also contains photographs of the man and his family. There is also a wealth of ideas on how you can use the material to teach History and English to students aged 9 to 14.
Art and the First World War: This is an excellent website devoted to the art produced during the First World War. Created to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Armistice, the database includes 54 artists and images of 100 pictures from museums in London, Paris, Berlin, Bonn, Vienna, Caen and Verdun. All the exhibits includes background details of the work and a brief biography of the artist. The paintings are listed under seven different categories: War Declared, Fighting Men, Age of Artillery, The Battlefield, Total War, Suffering and Death.
BBC: Art and the Front: The Western Front was a short train journey away from central London. The British government took advantage of this by commissioning the leading artists of the day to make eye witness accounts of the events of the war. Initially, the intention was to reproduce images for propaganda purposes, then to commemorate and record the service and events of the war. This BBC website enables you to explore the battleground terrains through artists' eyes and to find out how events of international significance were recorded.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) was established in 1917. Its duties involve marking and maintaining the graves of the members of the forces of the Commonwealth who were killed in the two World Wars. The CWGC is also responsible for keeping records of those who lost their lives and over the years has become an important source of information for those carrying out historical research. The CWGC has now made this material available on the Internet. It is now possible to obtain details of the rank, regiment, date and burial of all members of the armed forces killed in the First World War.
Canadian Air Aces and Heroes is a set of biographies on Canadians who distinguished themselves in military aviation from WWI through WWII and Korea. Linked with the biographies are technical pages on the aircraft they flew and fought against. It is continually being updated and added to so check back occasionally to see if anything new has been added.
Women in World War One: It was not until the United States got involved in the World War One that some parts of the government got serious about using women power. During the conflict nearly 13,000 women enlisted in the Navy and the Marine Corps. This website, produced by Barbara Wilson, a former captain in the USAF, contains information of these women and the large number of nurses who served in Europe during the conflict.
Godfrey Chavasse: Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse was Britain's most highly decorated serviceman in World War One. He was not however a soldier, being Medical Officer to the 10th (Liverpool Scottish) Battalion. When the Great War started, Noel went with his battalion to France, arriving there in November 1914. Noel won his first medal (a Military Cross) at the Battle of Hooge in June 1915. Noel's first Victoria Cross was gained at Guillemont on 8th August 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. When the Third Battle of Ypres started on 31st July 1917 Noel was in the front line with his men. For nearly two days he went out into the battlefield rescuing and treating wounded soldiers. It was during this period Noel performed the deeds that gained him his second VC. Unfortunately he was never to know about the award as he was killed in his aid station when a shell came through the door and exploded.
Canadian Military Heritage Project: This website is dedicated to presenting Canadian military history - the wars, uprisings and conflicts in which Canadians participated. The goal of the project is to preserve the records and memories of Canadians who served their country, and to ensure that their sacrifices are not forgotten. The website provides historical background for each conflict, chronological timelines, statistics, battles, weaponry, uniforms & equipment, famous Canadians, biographies of soldiers, heroes and their stories, contributions of women, other countries who participated, muster rolls for conflicts before 1900, letters from soldiers at the front, music and poetry, guest authors' submissions and links to other online resources.
Shot at Dawn: