In our latest post, Michael Noble from the University of Nottingham’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded Hidden Histories Engagement Centre discusses taking WW1 history to the public.
One of the joys of working for an Engagement Centre comes from the opportunity to meet and work with interested and committed people around the country. Over the course of the centenary, I have worked, talked and collaborated with hundreds of people, of all ages, who have a keen interest in the First World War and who have used their knowledge and enthusiasm to make the commemorations a success.
But what about those people who have little or no interest in the war? Those whose knowledge extends simply to the popular images of the conflict, the trenches, the truce, the Somme, the poppy. We would be neglectful as an Engagement Centre if we didn’t make efforts to reach these people, the ones that don’t necessarily meet us half-way.