Women's Health In South Tyneside: First World War Project

Monday, 13 June 2016

An International Reaction to Whist's First World War Project

È così strano trovare delle donne – alcune delle quali dell’età di mia nonna – che si incontrano per parlare di cose come il genere o la condizione delle donne nella prima guerra mondiale, cose che mia nonna neppure conosce. Lei – mia nonna – non è neppure vagamente consapevole di queste cose e questo perché ha lasciato la scuola quando aveva 8 anni – o forse 10, poco importa. Comunque, cosa penso di queste donne e di questo incontro? Quello che fanno è straordinario. Questo incontro è straordinario.

P.s. Non avevo intenzione di essere maleducata nel parlare di età… Potete perdonarmi?

Photograph of working women of Venice, Italy. Taken around 1900. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Finding women – some of them of the age of my grandmother – meeting to talk about things like gender or the condition of women during the First World War, things that my grandmother doesn’t even know, it's really weird. She – my grandmother – is not even vaguely aware of this stuff because she left the school when she was 8 – or maybe 10, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, my opinion about these women and this meeting? What they do is amazing. This meeting is amazing.

P.s. I didn’t intend to be rude talking about age… Can you forgive me?

Silvia

Map and flag of Italy. Picture with many thanks to Stasyan117 via Wikimedia Commons.

Monday, 16 May 2016

Research trip to London

On 15 March 2016 a group of women from Women's Health in South Tyneside set off on a research trip to London. The plan was to visit the National Archives and the Women's Library at the London School of Economics with the aim of furthering research skills and finding more out about the lives of women in the North East during the First World War. The two days that we spent in London inspired the following pieces of writing:

Working hard at The National Archives.

We search, like worker ants.

Find a thousand nuggets of information.

Now, to get it into our finished project!

Etta

The Group Visit to London was a wonderful experience where we all bonded together as women with a shared interest. Individuals thinking as one. Wednesday's visit to the National Archives was definitely a high point for me when I actually held the original documents concerning my grandfather's naturalisation dating back to 1905. I was also amazed to discover that until the First World War the majority of women didn't wear knickers. Imagine!!! The mind boggles!!!

WW1 trip to London Archives

Confusion out of chaos - where will it go?

Enthusiasm, Excitement and new Experiences

What if it goes wrong? - Where is everyone? - Will we make it on time?

Information overload - where to look next

Swamped by panic, judged and watched

Wish I'd remembered to write down the reference before being locked in a supervised room with a box full of information!

Joy

Help Point

Laughter on the train

Unfounds fears

Bacon for breakfast

Feeds fossicking

The swans slide around

Pretty pouty TNA

Serious silence shattered

With a pen

Talking, talking Turkish feast

Walking, walking

Through Bloomsbury light

Wine on return

Can I share your sunshine?

You can have it all!

Russell Square in spring.

The Project

The Heritage Lottery Fund have generously provided a grant Women's Health in South Tyneside to allow them to develop the research that they have already undertaken as part of the Durham at War project. The funding from HLF has enabled WHiST to take a group of women to the National Archives and the Women's Library in London in order to hone research skills in repositories of national importance. The material that the women have uncovered will then be used as inspiration for a range of creative responses facilitated by Tracy Gillman. Tracy is a poet, actor, director and creative writing PhD candidate at Newcastle University. Her thesis concentrates on the archive and the omissions from the record relating to women, particularly women war workers in the North East.