Image above Courtesy of Old Photos Halifax : Stephen Gee . https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldphotoshalifax/
" The Past is a foreign country; They do things differently there"
It can be difficult now to imagine just how absolute and desperate the war effort became for every local community in the British Isles during the traumatic years 0f 1914-18. The British collective memory of the Twenty First Century looks back on the Great War and sees nothing but an absurd act of futile self destruction, but if you turn the pages of the local newspapers of the time you will witness a totally different world. Here you will find an amazing display of communal solidarity buoyed up by an unshakable belief in the justice of their cause and a resolute determination to see the war through to nothing but complete victory.
The Halifax Great War Trail will take you round this largely forgotten and frequently misunderstood period of Britain's History and view it through the eyes of the local communities of the old Parish of Halifax.
The Halifax Great War Trail will take you round this largely forgotten and frequently misunderstood period of Britain's History and view it through the eyes of the local communities of the old Parish of Halifax.
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New Name for our group
Posted 11 October 2013
Following an EGM held on 10 October, the Halifax Great War Trail Association members in attendance voted to incorporate a change of name into the constitution . Our official name will now be :-
Halifax Great War Heritage Society
This was to reflect the wider activities of the group which is no longer involved in creating walking trails only.
It will take some time for the new name to percolate through the system so both names will probably have a currency for a while yet.
We won't take umbrage if you refer to us by our original name !
Halifax Great War Heritage Society
This was to reflect the wider activities of the group which is no longer involved in creating walking trails only.
It will take some time for the new name to percolate through the system so both names will probably have a currency for a while yet.
We won't take umbrage if you refer to us by our original name !
Publication : Halifax in the Great War
Posted 1 October 2013
Our chairman, David Millichope, was recently approached by the publishers Pen & Sword who were looking for an author to write a book about Halifax in World War 1. After some initial soul searching due to his existing commitments David has agreed to write “Halifax in the Great War”. There is quite a tight timescale but, with a little help from his friends, we are sure David will deliver on schedule. Watch this space.
The image above is the provisional layout of the title. The image on the lower front cover will be substituted by an appropriate one based on Halifax
Revd T B Hardy VC DSO MC : Presentation Meeting by David Raw
Posted 1 October 2013
On 11th September 2013 we welcomed the author David Raw who gave a presentation on the career of the Rev T B Hardy, one of the most decorated non combatants of the First World War. A short film was followed by a lively discussion before David answered questions. We were privileged to have such a knowledgeable guest and hope David will return in the future.
On The Halifax Trail
Posted 28 August 2013
In July a group of us set off around Halifax to get a preview of some of the locations we are interpreting for our Halifax Great War Trail . This one is at Spring Hall and was the location of one of the several Auxiliary Hospitals that came into play particularly from 1916 onwards. Originally it was owned by the Holdsworth family but has since passed through other hands and more recently been acquired by Calderdale Council and is the home of Calderdale Register Office.
Pictured left to right are : John Sunderland, Rob Hamilton, Alan Rhodes, Graham Bradshaw, Carla Spendlove, Richard Spendlove, Anne Wilkinson, Elaine Beach
Pictured left to right are : John Sunderland, Rob Hamilton, Alan Rhodes, Graham Bradshaw, Carla Spendlove, Richard Spendlove, Anne Wilkinson, Elaine Beach
Organisation of the British Army 1914
Second Presentation Meeting
Posted 18 July
Again pitched at the relative newcomer, Rob Hamilton gave a a splendid presentation on that most confusing of organisations, the British Army. In a clear and easy style that is Rob's hallmark we were taken round the complexities of regular, reservist, special reservist and territorial before looking at how the units were structured .
The presentation meetings now take a break for the summer and the next one is on September 11 at the Old Mill when David Raw will give a talk on the Revd T B Hardy VC DSO MC
The presentation meetings now take a break for the summer and the next one is on September 11 at the Old Mill when David Raw will give a talk on the Revd T B Hardy VC DSO MC
The Great War : An Overview Year by Year.
First presentation in our series for 2013.
Posted 2 July 2013
Following a number of workshops and presentations which have been staged since November 2012 we have now put in place a series of meetings for the rest of 2013. The first one on 20 June attracted a good attendance and included several 'new faces'.
There was also plenty of time for socialising and the evening was rounded off with a lively discussion session.
The next presentation is on Thursday 11 July at the Old Mill, Boothtown. This will be given by Rob Hamilton on 'The Organisation of the British Army in the Great War.
There was also plenty of time for socialising and the evening was rounded off with a lively discussion session.
The next presentation is on Thursday 11 July at the Old Mill, Boothtown. This will be given by Rob Hamilton on 'The Organisation of the British Army in the Great War.
Piece Hall : Neighbour's Day
Posted 10 June 2013
Organised by Alan Rhodes this was our second public event. It was also the first outing for our 'corporate' sweat shirts bearing our new Logo. This helped raise our profile and boosted our membership.
Left to right :
Alan Rhodes
David Millichope
Rosemary Jones
Left to right :
Alan Rhodes
David Millichope
Rosemary Jones
The Great War Gallery Seminar at Bankfield Museum 10 May
Posted 12 May 2013
Franne Wills of Bankfield Museum introduces their HLF funded Centenary Great War Gallery Project to an invited audience.
Richard MacFarlane delivered a keynote address on what the proposed Gallery would be offering.
Halifax Great War Trail Association presented their aims and progress. We were also able to discuss what we would like from the project and how we would be able to work with the proposed galleries.
Richard MacFarlane delivered a keynote address on what the proposed Gallery would be offering.
Halifax Great War Trail Association presented their aims and progress. We were also able to discuss what we would like from the project and how we would be able to work with the proposed galleries.
New Flagship Workstations and Key Word Training
Posted 26 April 2013
At the end of March we installed our two flagship workstations purchased using grant money provided by Calderdale Council Small Grants Scheme .
There are now six people who have been trained up and are getting up to speed with the key wording down at the Estaminet.
(Above )From top to bottom : Trich Morley, Rob Hamilton, John Sunderland.
There are now six people who have been trained up and are getting up to speed with the key wording down at the Estaminet.
(Above )From top to bottom : Trich Morley, Rob Hamilton, John Sunderland.
Flagship Workstations with HD 23" wide screens
NewsCat Keywording now open for business !
Posted 15 March 2013
Thanks to the completion of the refurbishment of our Estaminet we are now able to make a start on the NewsCat database and clear the backlog of photographed items from the Halifax Courier Weekly.
Our IT Database coordinator, Rob Hamilton, has been busy setting up some of our workstations and implementing a work flow to upload and keyword our data. The first training sessions are starting on Monday 18 March.
Anyone wishing to help with the keywording and receive training should contact Rob on robhamilton@live.co.uk.
Our IT Database coordinator, Rob Hamilton, has been busy setting up some of our workstations and implementing a work flow to upload and keyword our data. The first training sessions are starting on Monday 18 March.
Anyone wishing to help with the keywording and receive training should contact Rob on robhamilton@live.co.uk.
One Year On
Posted 8 March 2013
Above : Our first AGM completed and HGWTA ready for another year.
Below : Thanks to the frantic efforts of Alan, John, Rob and Graham the Estaminet was also open and ready to view on the night.
Below : Thanks to the frantic efforts of Alan, John, Rob and Graham the Estaminet was also open and ready to view on the night.
The Estaminet
Posted 12 February 2013
We were made an offer we couldn't refuse.!
Alan Rhodes, one of HGWTA's newer members, has offered us the use of a large vacant room on the ground floor of a converted mill building. Measuring 27' x 11' and originally built as a games room, Alan now intends to convert it into a pastiche of a French /Belgian Estaminet to also house our NewsCat workstations . Historically these buildings were converted by entrepeneurs into social gathering places where you could buy beer, tobacco and food . There is no direct equivalent of the Estaminet, but it best resembles a tavern which also sold farm produce. When soldiers were away from front line duties estaminets were great favourites with them for spending their hard earned rest times.
Alan Rhodes, one of HGWTA's newer members, has offered us the use of a large vacant room on the ground floor of a converted mill building. Measuring 27' x 11' and originally built as a games room, Alan now intends to convert it into a pastiche of a French /Belgian Estaminet to also house our NewsCat workstations . Historically these buildings were converted by entrepeneurs into social gathering places where you could buy beer, tobacco and food . There is no direct equivalent of the Estaminet, but it best resembles a tavern which also sold farm produce. When soldiers were away from front line duties estaminets were great favourites with them for spending their hard earned rest times.
Support from the highest levels
Posted 2 February 2013
We were very excited to receive the following support from two prominent historians involved in the preparations for the Centenary.
Professor Hew Strachan - Military Historian and member of the Government’s First World War Centenary Advisory Board.
‘This is very impressive, and shows just how much can be achieved at local level’.
Professor Richard Grayson - Head of History and Professor of Twentieth Century History at Goldsmiths, University of London and Chair of IWM’s Digital Centenary Programme.
‘Many thanks for this. What a great project! Can we talk more when the full
details of the IWM digital projects are publicised? I'm sure that there will be
many ways in which we can connect’.
Professor Hew Strachan - Military Historian and member of the Government’s First World War Centenary Advisory Board.
‘This is very impressive, and shows just how much can be achieved at local level’.
Professor Richard Grayson - Head of History and Professor of Twentieth Century History at Goldsmiths, University of London and Chair of IWM’s Digital Centenary Programme.
‘Many thanks for this. What a great project! Can we talk more when the full
details of the IWM digital projects are publicised? I'm sure that there will be
many ways in which we can connect’.
Happy New Year everyone
Posted 4 January 2013
And what a significant year it promises to be. Only 18 months to the Centenary so HGWTA’s contribution will probably be largely defined this year.
NewsCat restarted on 3 January and the first workshop meeting is scheduled for Monday 7 January at 10.30 am in Brighouse Library. This will be looking at our first steps towards creating the walking trails.
This month should also see the installation of the long awaited workstations for Lightroom and the first input of key worded data from the Halifax Courier of 1914-18.
NewsCat restarted on 3 January and the first workshop meeting is scheduled for Monday 7 January at 10.30 am in Brighouse Library. This will be looking at our first steps towards creating the walking trails.
This month should also see the installation of the long awaited workstations for Lightroom and the first input of key worded data from the Halifax Courier of 1914-18.
Calderdale Small Grants Application Successful !
Posted 27 November 2012
I'm delighted to announce that Calderdale Small Grants have awarded us our full budget towards IT equipment needed for creating the HGWTA Newspaper database (NewsCat). In conjunction with the help and support we have been receiving from Calderdale Library and Information Services, Calderdale Museum Service, Voluntary Action Calderdale and Pennine Horizons, HGWTA is now very well placed to move forward and achieve its ambitions. There is still a lot of hard work to do but there is now every reason to be looking forward optimistically.
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The funding will allow us to set up at least two terminals to run the powerful Lightroom 4 image database software and with adequate backup facilities. There is a very real chance we can increase this to at least another two more terminals thanks to the loan arrangement with Pennine Horizons. The computer workstations is where the newspaper items will be key worded and therefore searcheable. These items already number about 2000. They have been catalogued from the Halifax Courier Weekly by all the members who have been beavering away in the Central Library over the last few months.
Many thanks to everyone who has worked towards this.
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The funding will allow us to set up at least two terminals to run the powerful Lightroom 4 image database software and with adequate backup facilities. There is a very real chance we can increase this to at least another two more terminals thanks to the loan arrangement with Pennine Horizons. The computer workstations is where the newspaper items will be key worded and therefore searcheable. These items already number about 2000. They have been catalogued from the Halifax Courier Weekly by all the members who have been beavering away in the Central Library over the last few months.
Many thanks to everyone who has worked towards this.
Second Workshop Meeting, 15 November 2012.
Posted 17 November 2012
First of all we are due a huge thank you to HGWTA member, Alan Rhodes, for making his extraordinary house the venue for our second Workshop Meeting. With so many members opting to attend this evening meeting there was more than one voice who queried if there would be enough space. No problems. Even with twelve of us we could still stroll around as if promenading the decks of an ocean liner !
The meeting opened with a fascinating glimpse into Alan's incomparable collection of china memorabilia. Our primary interest was the patriotic items from the Great War but his staggering collection left us willing to believe we had somehow managed to wander into the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
This was followed by a practical demonstration of how the digitised information from the Halifax Courier Weekly pages of 1914-18 was being entered into the Lightroom 4 image database. With about 40,000 newspaper clippings ahead of us it was imperative we had a powerful search facility to access and cross reference the information. Lightroom 4 did not disappoint and a lively discussion followed on the ins and outs of its features.
The meeting opened with a fascinating glimpse into Alan's incomparable collection of china memorabilia. Our primary interest was the patriotic items from the Great War but his staggering collection left us willing to believe we had somehow managed to wander into the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
This was followed by a practical demonstration of how the digitised information from the Halifax Courier Weekly pages of 1914-18 was being entered into the Lightroom 4 image database. With about 40,000 newspaper clippings ahead of us it was imperative we had a powerful search facility to access and cross reference the information. Lightroom 4 did not disappoint and a lively discussion followed on the ins and outs of its features.
Workshop Meetings Begin
Posted on 7 November
The first in a planned series of Workshop meetings took place at Brighouse Library on Friday 2 November.
The first half consisted of two informal presentations based on some of the stories that are beginning to unfold from the pages of the Halifax Courier Weekly.
Elaine Beach told us how food supplies and local trade were disrupted by the outbreak of war and how knitwear for the troops at the front (particularly socks) became a virtual local industry.
David Millichope described the progress of a convoy of illuminated trams that toured the Calder valley whipping up support for recruitment to Kitchener's New Armies.
The second part reviewed the progress of the pilot NewsCat project which is cataloguing the Halifax Courier Weekly in the first three months of the year.
Our second meeting is scheduled for 15 November and is an evening meeting. This will be on 'Patriotic China of the Great War' and Alan Rhodes will be displaying items from his impressive collection.
The second part will be looking at a demonstration of how our digitised newspaper items are uploaded into the Lightroom database and how they are key worded.
Details in the website diary on the 'Contact Us' page.
The first half consisted of two informal presentations based on some of the stories that are beginning to unfold from the pages of the Halifax Courier Weekly.
Elaine Beach told us how food supplies and local trade were disrupted by the outbreak of war and how knitwear for the troops at the front (particularly socks) became a virtual local industry.
David Millichope described the progress of a convoy of illuminated trams that toured the Calder valley whipping up support for recruitment to Kitchener's New Armies.
The second part reviewed the progress of the pilot NewsCat project which is cataloguing the Halifax Courier Weekly in the first three months of the year.
Our second meeting is scheduled for 15 November and is an evening meeting. This will be on 'Patriotic China of the Great War' and Alan Rhodes will be displaying items from his impressive collection.
The second part will be looking at a demonstration of how our digitised newspaper items are uploaded into the Lightroom database and how they are key worded.
Details in the website diary on the 'Contact Us' page.
Great News ! IT Equipment for Newspaper Cataloguing Database.
Posted on 9 October 2012
Frank Woolrych (right) of Pennine Horizons, Birchcliffe Centre, hands over some IT equipment on loan to HGWTA, represented here by David Millichope (left). This is an important step for HGWTA who are now able to start setting up work stations for uploading and key wording a backlog of catalogued and scanned newspaper items. These are from the Halifax Courier Weekly 1914-18 and will be uploaded into the Lightroom image database.
Work begins on Graphic Design of Mobile Exhibition
Posted 21 September 2012
Left John Sunderland, Centre Rosemary Jones, Right Elaine Beach
Grant Funding Posted 20 September 2012
We are pleased to announce that we have been successful with our bid for funding from Calderdale Small Grants Scheme for our advertising budget. This will allow us to purchase items such as professional display stands, a secure display case and printed literature which will raise awareness of the activities of our association and attract more members to help with our projects. We are now seeking financial support for IT equipment which is essential for our Newspaper Cataloguing Database and are hopeful of a solution to this in the near future.
New Consitution and Grant Application Posted 14 August 2012
A EGM was held on Friday 10 August at Bankfied Museum which approved a new constitution for HGWTA. We are grateful to the staff of Voluntary Action Calderdale who advised us on this to support our application for grant funding from Calderdale Small Grants.
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Newspaper Cataloguing Pilot Launched Posted 10 August 2012
An important milestone was reached on 19 July when HGWTA launched its pilot scheme to catalogue the content of local newspapers. The target is to complete the cataloguing of the first three months of the war (up to 31 October 1914) by 11 November 2012. The system itself is still ‘work in progress’ so there has been no general appeal for extra volunteers. Once this pilot has refined the cataloguing system then it will become necessary to call on volunteers and to start planning for the massive task of cataloguing the whole war period.
A New Website and lots of Committee activity. Posted 22 June 2012
Welcome to our new website hosted by iPage. Much of it is still a case of work in progress but you should be able to see some activity on most pages.
Generally, there’s lots to report on including :-
· Submission of our pre-application for Heritage Lottery Funding.
· Preparations for an Official Launch Campaign to culminate in an exhibition on Saturday 10 November 2012.
· Advanced development of our Newspaper Cataloguing System
· PR activity to raise awareness of our association.
Some more details on these to follow in later news posts.
Generally, there’s lots to report on including :-
· Submission of our pre-application for Heritage Lottery Funding.
· Preparations for an Official Launch Campaign to culminate in an exhibition on Saturday 10 November 2012.
· Advanced development of our Newspaper Cataloguing System
· PR activity to raise awareness of our association.
Some more details on these to follow in later news posts.