Last Post: Remembering the First World War
Organisation: The British Postal Museum & Archive
Grant Award: £48,100
A HLF grant of £48,100 has made it possible for exciting educational resources about the role of the Post Office during the First World War to be produced. A pack for both primary and secondary schools has been put together by The British Postal Museum & Archive (BPMA) along with a loan box and a series of exciting outreach sessions as part of the project.
Online resources are available from the British Postal Museum & Archive website:
Background
The Post Office formed a vital function during the First World War. Not only was it responsible for vital military correspondence for the British Army both between battalions on the front and also from home but it also ensured that all troops could stay in touch with their friends and family .
With a quarter of the postal workforce enlisted to fight in battalions such as the Post Office Rifles 35,000 women were enlisted to work on the home front to ensure that letter deliveries and telephone services were available. The Post Office also worked with the War Office to support the war effort by creating a censorship organisation.
The archive collection at the BPMA includes over 3,000 files of original material that relate to the running of the Post Office during the period 1914 – 1918.
Letters home
Postal communication was one of the few things that soldiers had to look forward to while fighting on the front. Letters or cards from sweethearts and loved ones were a happy distraction from the gruesome realities of war. On the reverse, letters home expressing the horrors of battle were important proof that fathers, sons, grandfathers, uncles and nephews were still alive.
Outcomes
Exhibition
The research for the project has been used to develop an exhibition that explores the role of the Post Office during the First World War. This exhibition will go on display at The Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms in November 2008. It will then go on to tour to 15 regimental museums around the country on a touring programme to 2011.
Their Past Your Future
The BPMA acquired a Their Past Your Future grant to facilitate a series of outreach sessions using lesson plans and activities from the education packs. These will take place in museums hosting the exhibition and will encourage schools to look at the history of the postal system through direct curriculum links.
A full project report can be downloaded here
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