Marking the centenary of the First World War
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Introduction
Bristol 2014 is an extensive programme of activity to mark the 100 year anniversary of the start of the First World War. It aims to provide a range of activities that will allow people to reflect on the impact WW1 had on Bristol and its residents. As part of this project, Bristol 2014 wanted to create something that would provide a lasting legacy beyond the centenary events as well as engage a wider variety of the community.
The Great War Stories map app was the first that we have commissioned and we found the staff at Calvium were responsive to our needs, took care in explaining issues in a way we could understand and developed something which we are proud to promote as part of the Bristol 2014 programme.
WW1 centenary celebrations across the UK
2014 marks 100 years since the start of the First World War and memorial events have been happening all over the UK. In London, the Tower of London’s Ceramic Poppy Installation ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ has been attracting thousands of visitors. In Dundee a war memorial time capsule put together by postal workers in 1921 was opened. The ‘Bristol 2014: The City and Conflict from the First World War to the Present Day’ programme of activity is part of the Bristol contribution to the memory of WW1.
With exhibitions at the M shed, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol Record Office,Glenside Hospital Museum, University of Bristol Theatre Collection and other sites across the city, Bristol 2014’s events will be hard to miss. ‘The City and Conflict from the First World War to the Present Day’ is coordinated by Bristol Cultural Development Partnership, an Arts Council England National Portfolio organisation funded by Bristol City Council, Business West and a large variety of individuals and local companies.
About the app
As Bristol app developers we are extremely proud to have developed the ‘Great War Stories’ app to mark the centenary and provide a lasting legacy for the future. The app itself is a specially created layer of the ‘Know Your Place’ website, pinpointing locations of some of the many fascinating stories generated by the First World War in Bristol. Using geolocation via the app, users can wander the streets of Bristol and find out captivating connections to the past including; strange urban myths, long-secret family anecdotes and wild rumours, as well as a wealth of facts and figures. The location for the stories were researched and originally written by writer and freelance Journalist Eugene Byrne.
In addition to this, you can upload your own stories and recounts of the war to be included on the web-site. By selecting the ‘contribute’ tab on the Know Your Place website and completing a form, you can upload stories and pictures to be included. As the Bristol 2014 website states, “This is the biggest attempt yet to map a huge and diverse collection of stories about Bristol’s First World War experience and share them with the public.”
Legacy for Bristol
The Great War Stories app will provide a lasting legacy to the celebrations in Bristol. For remembrances to come it will provide a local insight to the war as well as the events and celebrations of 2014. Creative Director of Calvium, Jo Reid, said…
“It’s a pleasure to be involved with a project that has such local roots. Over the years we have made many storytelling apps based in Bristol, and we’re very honoured to add Bristol 2014 to our repertoire of AppTrails.”
If you’d like to hear more about the way Calvium AppTrails could engage your audience, contact hello@calvium.com
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