East Belfast and The Great War

Update on the site

The East Belfast & the Great War project started in 2014 after being awarded £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Led by Jason Burke and Dr Jonathan Evershed the project compiled a database of First World War servicemen from the East Belfast constituency using Professor Richard Grayson's 'military history from the street' methodology. As a result of this research c.6,000 individuals were identified from a range of sources and recorded in a data sheet. The East Belfast project also priorities community engagement as part of its aims and objectives. Consequently, a series of First World War 'Antiques Roadshow' style events were held across East Belfast, the artefacts and objects which came forward during this process formed an online archive which was created by the Centre for Data Digitisation and Analysis, supporting the Living Legacies 1914-18 research project at  Queen's University, Belfast. As well as the roadshow events the project worked closely with a range of local community groups by providing 'skills sharing workshops' in order to assist them in researching local individuals who served in the war. The result of the community workshops was a small exhibition containing biographies of East Belfast servicemen which subsequently toured libraries in the area.   The project will now be hosted through the Living Legacies 1914-18 web site.

About East Belfast & The Great War

Bringing together experienced researchers and historians on a voluntary basis, East Belfast & The Great War’s principal objective is to facilitate its members in pursuing collaborative historical research with a view to developing awareness and understanding of the social and political history of the First World War within East Belfast.

East Belfast & The Great War currently consists of five volunteers, each with a background in historical or social research. The primary activities currently being undertaken by the members of the group correspond to fulfilling the two strands of the East Belfast & The Great War project.

The first core activity is archival research, with a view to compiling both an accessible on-line database of all those from East Belfast who served in the First World War. This research is done on voluntary basis.

The second core activity involves engaging with members of the community to both gather and share information. To this end, members of the group are involved in developing relationships with community organisations in East Belfast to develop and deliver community workshops.