Community groups from Cwmbran have been imagining what their lives might have been like during the First World War.
It is part of the Who Do I Think I Was? project, led by Head4Arts and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund who have been working with groups from across the South East Wales Valleys.
Finding people with similarities to themselves
During the project, the groups visited Gwent and Glamorgan Archives to learn more about the conflict and its impact on local communities. Archive staff supported them to research around their own specific interests, concentrating on the experiences of people with whom they shared similarities, such as living in the same town, having similar hobbies or being of the same age or gender.
This approach encouraged participants to discover aspects of World War One history that they shared a personal connection with, helping them to understand how people just like them were affected by the war.
With the help of author Phil Carradice, each group used their research to develop “characters” to depict what they thought life might have been like a hundred years ago.
Cwmbran High School- Watch two pupils in their monologue
Pupils from Cwmbran High School filmed a series of monologues with the help of Breaking Barriers Community Arts. The films explore the thoughts and feelings of some of the different characters who lived in the area during the First World War such as soldiers, nurses, school children and women at home.
Click this link to watch Katie Saunders perform a monologue and this link to watch Ella Maidment.
Thornhill Craft Group
The Thornhill Craft Group made replica sweetheart pincushions, similar to those that were made by soldiers in recuperation.
Visit the exhibition and see their work
All of the work produced can be viewed in the Who Do I Think I Was? community exhibition which is being displayed in Gwent Archives, Ebbw Vale until Friday 22 July and in Glamorgan Archives, Leckwith between 2 – 12 August.
Admission to the exhibition is free of charge. For more information visit Inspired by History.
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Photo credits
Thanks to Head4Arts/ Mark Lewis for the photos