Impact case study database

Informing Waterloo200 Learning Strategy and Age of Revolution national educational initiative.

Marsh’s research closely informed the framing of the Educational Legacy project implemented by Waterloo200 Ltd, the charitable trust (funded by DCMS) responsible for delivering the commemorative programme for the bicentennial of the Battle of Waterloo in 2015-20, with the target of engaging 2,000 UK schools across the educational spectrum. He was approached by W200 in 2017 because of his research, pedagogical expertise, and experience as Director of Public Engagement with Research for the Faculty of Humanities at Kent. Marsh’s research and in particular his emphasis on the importance of up-to-date subject research, best-practice pedagogy and inclusive approaches to historical research and thinking [R1] offered a foundation for the national educational initiative, with W200’s Learning Strategy (2017) citing his work [a]. In January 2018 the project commissioned Marsh to create a 50-page summary document that crystallised recent research findings into a simplified thematic architecture that was accessible to educators at different levels [b].

New resources and objects created by the project were subsequently cross-mapped against this structure and its ‘key messages’, thereby enabling teachers and museum learning teams to engage selectively at points of intersection with their existing schemata (at different age ranges and across differing UK education systems and streams) [b]. Marsh was awarded an R&I Grant (£172,154, 2017-2021) [G1], to develop partnerships and resources to support the initiative, through collaborations with numerous cultural and heritage partners, including the People’s History Museum (Manchester), Bowes Museum (Barnard Castle), Old Operating Theatre (London), New Lanark (Glasgow), Regimental Museums (Dover, Winchester, Caernarfon, Bodmin), Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (Belfast), Ironbridge Museums, and others, in step with the DCMS emphasis on reaching all parts of the UK and supporting the digital profile of small and medium-sized heritage sites. The CEO of W200 Ltd. described Marsh as ‘pivotal to the success of the Age of Revolution project’, having ‘brought essential knowledge, up-to-date research and an all-important curatorial steer [...] central to realising its aim of foregrounding ‘hidden’ histories and embedding multiple perspectives which has proved particularly valuable with the renewed focus across the cultural and heritage sector on ‘decolonising’ collections, displays and programming’ [i]. The partnership was described as something that ‘will have lasting impact’ for Culture24, a non-profit organisation which supports museums and other arts and heritage organisations to reach and engage with audiences [i].

Enhancing understanding of a significant period in history by designing and delivering innovative, accessible and inclusive learning resources.

The programme was delivered as a mutually reinforcing combination of (A) digital materials and learning resources that were made available open-access on the Age of Revolution website, with its centrepiece a ‘Revolutionary Collection’ of over 350 high-quality digitised images of historical objects, sounds and songs, educational films, audio interviews, and (B) physical resources, including innovative educational card games and graphic novels, both with learning activities designed for easy adaptation into classrooms.

Already by June 2020, 2,101 educational and cultural organisations had been reached by the project (exceeding the DCMS target), with 1,421 actively using resources generated to support classroom teaching [c]. Though delayed by the impact of COVID-19 in slowing the distribution and shareability of physical resources, the uptake in schools has continued to rise in the second half of 2020. The project has successfully driven teachers to take up the subject area and integrate it into their units of study and pathways of student progression (especially between Key Stage 2-4), in the process influencing new pedagogy [h, j].

(A) Google analytics of the webpages administered by Culture24 captured 106,859 views in the period May 2018-May 2019 [c] more than doubling to 258,977 in November 2019-November 2020 [e], with a total reach of 1,198,773 page views across the length of the project. High average dwell times (over five minutes for many of the object pages) reflect significant learning engagement, while 14,816 pageviews of the Education activities (curated especially for teachers) indicate strong uptake among educators [e]. The extensive digital reach of the project was sampled through a pop-up online survey tool [d] across five months in 2019, showing in that short window at least 154 UK educational institutions, including 99 primary and secondary schools, had used the website, with secondary school users over twice as frequent as primary. A teacher consultation linked to the survey stressed that the object pages and themes in particular met or exceeded expectations, and that they “were impressed by the quality and detail of the historical information” and used the site for bringing students to a new topic, to make lessons more accessible, as a “creative stimulus for a classroom activity” and for extra-curricular enrichment [d]. Original animated videos produced by the project, focusing on introducing new insights into the histories of medicine and warfare (e.g. on vaccination and surgical instruments), had received over 1,605 views by December 2020 [e], and featured in the @BBCArts initiative #MuseumFromHome [e]. Accessible segmented audio interviews with expert scholars (on subjects such as antislavery and gender politics) had amassed 2,952 views by October 2020 [d]. Materials assembled and cross-mapped on the HA website secured an additional 7,500 views and 3,240 unique podcast plays or downloads [j].

(B) Marsh co-designed and authored two physical resources that secured extensive reach throughout UK schools and have significantly influenced the delivery of curriculum and syllabi in schools. The first resource was a twenty-page graphic novel (co-authored with a Manchester-based artist, ‘Polyp’), Peterloo: Imagine a World (Age of Revolution, 2019) that offered a vivid account of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre, with a female character at its centre. It referenced primary sources, objects, and linkages across the Age of Revolution, with questions and reflections specially adapted for classroom use. 508 schools had ordered physical copies of the graphic novel and integrated it into classroom delivery by December 2020 (excluding a significant number using open-access online versions) [c], with social media feedback describing it as a ‘fabulous’ asset, a ‘brilliant free resource’ and an ‘absolutely amazing resource’ for deepening teaching of the period and its connections [g]. The second innovative output was the release and distribution from January 2020 of a pack of Top Trumps titled Great Figures of the Age of Revolution featuring 30 revolutionary historical figures designed by Marsh with the official licensor Winning Moves, whose pre-existing commercial heritage-related packs contained no black figures. The selection of thirty diverse people (including Toussaint Louverture, Olympe de Gouges, and Uthman dan Fodio) involved an international survey of over 4,000 participants, and the resource followed Marsh’s emphasis [R1] on integrating play and pedagogy to render the period and its figures more accessible. 12,000 packs had been printed and made available to schools (esp. 9-16 ages) by December 2020 [c]. The packs were supported by additional learning activities and the inclusion of posters and blank labels so that teachers or students could research and assign criteria or add figures, with a view to enhancing cultural understanding and knowledge bases.

Feedback collated from teachers in November 2020 [g] attested to the rich ways in which these research-based resources have influenced pedagogy and understanding. The graphic novel had provided ‘a powerful and engaging way of communicating’ the topic, made students ‘keen to learn more about the revolutions and the thinking which underpinned them’, and helped because it ‘added another layer of learning for differentiation’. Teachers reported that the Top Trumps had become the centrepiece of student activities, stimulated new Schemes of Work (SOW) on topics around the Age of Revolution, and ‘most definitely it has highlighted the important role played by significant women and black leaders’. The cards had successfully been used not just to improve awareness and knowledge recall, but to encourage students to pursue independent research and deepen their awareness of the chronology, comparative radicalism, and international reach of revolutions (‘students were able to connect countries and continents together’), especially for industrial revolution, political, and imperial modules. In spite of the fact that the physical dimensions of the cards had made them difficult to use as intended because of COVID in 2020, teachers had enthusiastically adapted them into learning programmes through plenary activities, extension tasks for both higher and lower ability students (‘the previously disengaged have become more interested’), revision tasks, home schooling (‘during lockdown, students requested lessons on the American and French Revolutions as they’d been reading about some of the key figures on the cards/posters’), and to support accessible learning (‘used as a standalone activity with our SEN pupils’).

One respondent summarised the resources’ impact as having ‘certainly influenced what we teach as the year 8 curriculum has been changed to reflect the 4 different strands of the Age of Revolution’ and another teacher affirmed that ‘the resources have enabled me to teach a more diverse curriculum as they have introduced me to key figures I did not know about previously, who now feature in my Schemes of Work’. [g]. Besides schools, the cards have been used in workshops by museum learning teams, and a copy requested as a permanent acquisition by the National Portrait Gallery.

Boosting the skills and knowledge base of teachers and teacher trainers by providing rigorous professional development opportunities

In the summer term of 2017, a survey of experienced history teachers working in 287 different schools in England (76% non-selective) reported on changes to English GCSE and A level specifications, in which teachers expressed particular concern over ‘curriculum changes’ (87%), lack of ‘new resources’ (73%) and an absence of CPD opportunities (54%) because ‘relevant kinds of courses or support were simply not being offered’. The Age of Revolution project has alleviated these issues through collaborative work with the Historical Association, leading research-centred CPD events and directly supporting teacher training programmes. As a result, teachers and trainee teachers have built networks and collaborative resources to support innovative teaching, and created independent educational resources that reflect a heightened knowledge base.

In collaboration with the Historical Association in February 2018, Marsh and colleagues from the University of Kent (Bowman, Caiani) along with Prof. Arthur Burns (KCL) co-delivered a residential Teacher Fellowship Programme (TFP) at Waterloo (Belgium). The programme offered research orientation, training, and co-developed resources and activities for 30 Teacher Fellows (10 primary and 20 secondary), supported by the HA’s experienced Teacher Leaders and drawing on the expertise of historians – with Marsh’s book [R1] the centrepiece of proceedings (a copy provided to each participant at the outset) [f]. TFP participants reported that the programme ‘enabled me to put together a practical resource base for the school and to establish an effective curriculum development programme’ and ‘definitely’ influenced work within school history departments – with others reporting it had ‘revitalised my teaching and appetite for the subject’, brought confidence to teachers to engage the subject at KS2 and KS3, and constituted ‘quite the most powerful experience in terms of training I have received in my near 20 year career’. [j]. The TFP demonstrably enhanced understanding, stimulated new curriculum uptake, set in motion new classroom practices and new resources, and culminated in improvements to teaching and coverage of the Age of Revolution subject area. HA Teacher Fellows created and published multiple follow-up resources, and the HA commended the TFP as pathbreaking and ‘unique for several reasons’ [j], including its inclusion of Primary School participants, its scale (incorporating international teachers, University PGCE tutors, and heritage learning officers), and its ‘broadening the scope of those students who were impacted by the project’ [j]. The HA summarised that ‘the breadth of impact has been vast, encompassing specific learning and development within school as well as professional motivation and personal development’. As their report affirms, several participants have become active leaders within the HA and delivered highly acclaimed CPD and learning dissemination events [f, j].

The Age of Revolution project has also fostered greater professional networking and resource sharing among key History educators, supporting development work with teachers, teacher trainers, and museum learning teams. These have included initiatives such as those spearheaded by TFP participants Will Bailey-Watson “used by countless teachers across the country” (Lecturer in Education, Reading Institute of Education) [h] and Katie Hall (whose Age of Revolution activities were described as ‘really useful and link brilliantly to our GCSE topic’ **[g]**), and the resources and multiple lesson enquiry scheme on historical interpretation co-authored by Arthur Chapman (Prof. in History Education, UCL Institute of Education), centred around the Peterloo graphic novel. Age of Revolution resources have been embedded in History PGCE programmes at Universities with programme leads commenting that they had contributed to ‘problematising ideas of “Empire” and “colonization” in history teaching” and helped PGCE cohorts to ‘access and learn about key “types” of history resource’, to improve their practice and pedagogy, and adapt to the lockdown demands of online learning [h]. Tutors valued in particular the project’s contribution to ‘What makes inclusive teaching?’ elements, including encouraging trainee teachers to address race and gender through creative resources. Overall, the project has therefore generated a step change in attention to this field in history classrooms, as reflected in the most successful HA ‘Great Debate’ in UK and Ireland to date in March 2019, with 70 schools participating in over 21 regional heats and the final adjudicated at Windsor Castle. Moreover, it has significantly influenced practice in the sector, with partners emphasising how the research project ‘bridge[s] the gap between school and academic history **[h]**’, ‘has been a massive asset to my teaching and practice’ [h], and has generated ‘impact that will continue to be felt, as blended learning becomes increasingly integral to the cultural sector’s education offer’ [i].

Influencing policy makers at the FCO and OPCW

As a result of his research expertise on the history of Porton Down and cholinesterase-inhibiting agents (drawn from his 10-year study Secret Science (2015) and other related publications), Schmidt has ‘participated in ongoing debates to influence and raise awareness of the historical context surrounding the use of chemical and biological weapons. Schmidt’s contribution to these debates provided invaluable information for numerous authorities and policy makers to consider when shaping their responses to the global CBW threat. This expertise was made particularly valuable following the alleged use of nerve agents in Syria (since 2012), and confirmed use in Malaysia (2017), the United Kingdom (2018), and Russia (2020). In October 2015, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) invited Schmidt to attend an invitation-only meeting entitled ‘Arms Control at 50 – Does Arms Control have a Future?’ where delegates considered the national and international challenges to arms control and disarmament [a]. Following this, he was invited to provide critical historical context at the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons’ (OPCW) Twenty-Second Session of the Conference of 133 States Parties in 2017, when he delivered a keynote address on the subject of ‘Preparing for Poison Warfare: The Ethics and Politics of Britain’s Chemical Weapons Programme, 1915-1945’. This was followed by a further invitation from OPCW to provide the first plenary address, as one of only 8 non-governmental officials to 106 States Parties at the ‘Fourth Special Session’ (The Hague, 26^th June 2018). During this he highlighted the importance of a ‘rules-based approach’ in tackling both the context and complexity of the global threat from chemical and biological warfare agents (CBW) and called for recognition of his plan for a new ‘Global Partnership Programme’ (GPP), which he had successfully trialled a month earlier (see below). Schmidt’s contribution supported the UK government’s desire to strengthen the OPWC’s role in combatting CBW use, the proliferation of CWs, and the identification of those involved either as ‘perpetrators, organisers or sponsors’. This resulted in the OPWC’s ‘Decision Addressing the Threat from Chemical Weapons Use’ [b] dated 27 June 2018. It also provided support for the Global Partnership Programme. Writing about the Special Sessions Schmidt had addressed, a senior FCO representative stated that he was ‘delighted with the outcome of the special sessions’ and deemed the outcomes ‘an important victory for arms control’ [c].

Following on from this, in November 2018, Schmidt co-organised a plenary session of the Chemical Weapons Convention Commission, where he gave a paper on ‘Chemical Weapons and the Environment’ highlighting the role of civil society in contextualising the dangers of CW use [d]. Also in 2019, Schmidt presented his research at the Brocher Foundation in Geneva, to an audience of scientists, NGOs and experts on the ethics of medical and biotechnological research. His presentation on the ‘Origins of Research Ethics Committees in the UK Military Medical Research’ was described by a senior World Health Organization official as ‘intriguing’ and which ’probably created the most interest among the participants on that day’. The official went on to express the desire to maintain the useful working relationship that had been established [e]. Through engaging with officials, civil servants and policy makers at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons, the Chemical Weapons Convention Commission and at the Brocher Foundation, Schmidt has increased historical understanding, countered disinformation and influenced decision making within inter-governmental organisations, the UK government and NGOs.

Civil Society Engagement

In May 2018, Schmidt pioneered the concept of the Global Partnership Programme, which would bring together policy makers and civil society and operate through a rolling series of Global Partnership Workshops. Reacting to the Salisbury attack, Schmidt realised the need for such events to allow a rapid response and space for confidential critical reflection between these stakeholders. Conducted under Chatham House rules, these workshops were attended by representatives from the OPCW, FCO, Chemical Weapons research facilities (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), Porton Down), and the NGO Green Cross International, as well as the academic community. The first Global Partnership Workshop (GPW) in October 2018, centred on the history of nerve agents and the role of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Feedback was extensive and positive with a significant number of delegates reporting an increased appreciation of the importance of historical perspective to contemporary understandings. Attendees noted that ‘it essential to know the history of your area so that you can demythologise practices’, and that historical understanding ‘plays an incredibly important role […] different perspectives, new information, different issues all contribute to development of questions, analysis [and the] identification of new sources’ [f].

A second Global Partnership Workshop, ‘CBW and the Public Sphere’ was held in May 2019 and focused on how the expert community could engage with the general public on CBW issues. A senior DSTL official stated that the event was, ‘absolutely bloody crucial. Lessons ignored = future mistakes’ and that ‘it is vital to learn from the past and to use historical information to understand further the contemporary situation’. Another attendee reported the importance of analysing the past in order ‘to contextualise, and disentangle, the complexity and different elements of hybrid warfare – propaganda/information warfare and chemical warfare – that we face today and must counter as best we can’. Others stated: ‘These are absolutely invaluable and will have a significant legacy in public understanding over coming years’ and ‘The great advantage of this workshop is the diversity of expertise and views of the participants, which lead to new ways of thinking and creative insights into how to tackle a difficult subject and policy area.’ Participants reported an enhanced understanding that will help to ‘improve and transmit expertise and to maintain standards’ [g]. Plans were then made to organise a third GPW that would bring together local civic leaders, expert scientists, academia and community representatives. As a result of Covid-19, these plans are in the process of being modified to facilitate an online exchange.

The second strand of Schmidt’s Global Partnership Programme was to ensure a link between policy makers, researchers and wider society. He did this by collaborating with the photographer, Dara McGrath, developing 10 Community Exhibitions under the title ‘This Poisoned Isle’. The exhibition was staged at seven community venues (September 2018 to October 2019) in Cornwall, Dorset, Swansea, Cambridgeshire, Canterbury, Yorkshire, and Ullapool (in the Scottish Highlands) and engaged over 640 residents, policy makers, scientists, and academics. (The remaining three that had been scheduled for 2020 had to be postponed due to the pandemic.)

The exhibit explored the risk of residual contamination to communities that had been used to host the manufacture, storage, trials, and disposal of chemical weapons. With the Salisbury attack inspiring much public discussion, the Community Exhibitions engaged with, informed and contextualised their communities’ relationship with chemical weapons. Intrinsic to the project was active engagement with visitors. All were encouraged to become involved in reciprocal conversations with McGrath and Schmidt about the issues explored in the exhibition. Public responses to these exhibitions were then presented at the GPWs to provide policy makers with vital civic feedback to further inform decision making.

The qualitative data from visitor surveys reveals the project created, and informed, community awareness, demonstrating:

• Measurable change in the awareness of the extent to which CBW testing impacted upon, and contaminated, the environment. [‘an eye opener’; ‘this exhibition brings home the importance of making people aware of what governments do on their behalf’; ‘it certainly raised awareness of the scale of activity and the geographical spread throughout the UK which was surprising especially the experiments carried out in some of the most beautiful places and the apparent lack of care for the environment and the population’]

• Greater awareness about the value, and fragility, of community cohesion and belonging, raising the potential for future involvement in local CBW policy issues. [‘Projects need to be made public so communities are aware and kept well-informed of purposes & effects’; ‘People should be made aware of the dangerous or potential dangerous projects being undertaken on their doorstep’]

• How problems for rural communities in accessing CBW knowledge can be overcome. [‘It’s increased my awareness of the preponderance of these sites and made me realise the banality of the locations in today’s landscape’; ‘thank you for reminding us of our legacy.’; ‘our villagers were generally not very informed […] we had heard about it but with no real detail, so it was good to be informed’]

• Increased awareness about government secrecy, lack of transparency, and failure to engage adequately with communities. [‘The Government needs to talk to local community’; ‘people should be made aware of the dangerous or potential dangerous projects being undertaken on their doorstep – but also aware that the majority of people would be against them – regardless of how ‘safe’ they would be’]

• A renewed sense of pride about CBW sites in contributing to local economies and CBW preparedness. [‘I love the fact that this touring exhibition has come to this community hall, something that doesn’t usually take place here and at the real heart of the community of the Gower’] [h].

The exhibitions created a dialogue between local communities, Schmidt’s research, and the policy making community (via the Global Partnership Programme), thus connecting chemical and biologicals weapons policy-making more strongly with civil society, achieving the goals set out by the Global Partnership Workshops. Schmidt and McGrath intended to continue the exhibition series in 2020, with a further emphasis on building a national community of regions impacted by historical chemical and biological weapons policy via a forum and events that would bring disparate communities together to share experiences and engage in further historical research. However, these plans are currently on hold until the health crisis abates.

Promoting remembrance and reflection on the contribution of the FWW generation to the modern world

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) drew extensively on Connelly’s research expertise to ‘shape our commemorative activity’ [a] of the centenaries of the Battle of the Somme (held in Manchester on Friday 1^st July 2016), and the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) (held at Zonnebeke in Belgium between 29^th July and 1^st August 2017).

For the Somme Centenary, Connelly extensively briefed the DCMS team and its partner organisations on the significance and historical context of the battle; identified central themes for exploration; advised on available archival resources; briefed the Parliamentary All Party War Heritage Group on outreach activities; and assembled a team from the AHRC Gateways to the FWW Centre to support the commemorations. Connelly also provided a historical account for the commemorative service booklet and worked closely with the Church of England’s Liturgical Committee to develop the Westminster Abbey service marking the centenary of the outbreak of First World War (4^th August 2014) and the Manchester Cathedral service marking the centenary of the Battle of the Somme (1^st July 2016) [a]. More than 19,000 ticket holders attended the Manchester commemorations, and both cathedral services were broadcast live by the BBC.

For the Passchendaele Centenary, Connelly worked closely with the DCMS team to broaden the appeal of the commemorations by looking beyond the battle itself and incorporating the impact of the fighting on local people in Belgium and on the way the battle was commemorated in its immediate aftermath. As part of this, Gateways (led by Connelly) provided a series of presentations in the main arena (Experience Field) and a dramatisation co-written by Connelly with Dr Helen Brooks, was performed ten times on the main stage during the commemorations. The Passchendaele Memorial Museum estimated that 39,000 visitors attended over the three-day period. The DCMS evaluation of the Centenary reported that this combination of traditional commemorative events integrated with the innovative use of arts and culture in the First World War Commemorations (FWWC) was particularly effective in promoting engagement [h, i].

The DCMS’ Somme Centenary Project Director noted that ‘Gateways to the First World War proved to be an invaluable resource. We couldn't have done it without them.’ [a]. Similarly, the Director of Culture, Tourism and Sport at DCMS (responsible for delivering the Passchendaele Centenary) noted Gateways’ ‘outstanding contribution to the national commemoration’ which provided guests with a ‘rewarding and unforgettable experience’ [b]. YouGov tracked public knowledge and attitudes towards the FWWC over the course of the commemorations and found that the FWW programme had a considerable impact in raising awareness and understanding of the FWW and also helped people to commemorate the sacrifices that were made [h]. According to the BBC’s audience research, almost half those who engaged or experienced any of the FWWC content learnt something new [h].

Preserving FWW cultural and architectural heritage in Ypres: improving access and understanding of records and archives, enhancing the visitor experience and sustaining a legacy for future generations,

Connelly used his expertise on the significance of the West Flanders city of Ieper/Ypres in a number of ways. Firstly, he briefed representatives of the British media and travel businesses on the importance of the Third Battle of Ypres as part of the regional government’s tourism and heritage office campaign to encourage tourism. Building on this, in 2017 he launched an initiative which further improved the visitor experience and led to greater public engagement. In collaboration with St George’s Memorial Church, built as a memorial to the British and Commonwealth forces who fought and died around the city, Connelly designed new walking tours of the city’s main remembrance sites and trained University of Kent students to act as guides. By drawing parallels between the modern visitor and the first wave of visitors, the new tours showed tourists that they were also part of a rich heritage of battlefield pilgrimages to the Ypres Salient. The Vice-Chair of the St George’s Memorial Church’s Friends stated that ‘this was a unique project in the history of St. George’s … started from scratch by Mark [Connelly]’ and resulted in ‘extremely positive’ visitor feedback [c].

The success of this innovative scheme led to its adoption by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) supported by UK government funding. Connelly collaborated with the CWGC to embed the tours into its new intern scheme by leading training sessions for the interns and providing them with the historical and geographical knowledge needed to lead the tours as well as to interpret the main sites of the Ypres battlefields where they were based. The CWGC’s chief historian stated of these sessions: ‘the feedback has been incredible – you were an absolute hit! ’. He went on to describe how Connelly’s ‘expertise and hands-on support […] formed the basis of the bespoke training programme for our guides’ and how the scheme which this training underpinned ‘has proved a pioneering project which has contributed to a significant cultural shift within the organisation’ [d]. It has reached hundreds of visitors and similar tours elsewhere are being considered [d]. This scheme featured as a case study in the Centenary Programme Evaluation conducted by DCMS. The evaluation describes the internship scheme as ‘a tangible legacy of the FWWC for the CWGC, since the scheme is still ongoing and will continue in the future’ [h].

Drawing on his extensive experience of the CWGC records, and working in partnership with CWGC’s archives team, Connelly also helped improve knowledge of its collections for both staff and visitors, encouraging interaction and exploration. He created two projects for volunteers to explore archival holdings and understand cataloguing processes and held a series of public events in the UK and Belgium to highlight the nature of the archival holdings. This contributed to the increase in visitors to its website and an increased engagement with its social media platforms. [h, i] In 2018, Connelly was called upon to act as an expert witness for the CWCG’s successful application for UNESCO World Heritage listing for its casualty database, which is used by approximately 32 million visitors annually [d]. The CWGC’s Chief Historian stated that Connelly’s ‘collaboration and work with us has… had a real and tangible benefit to the Commission and to the wider public … interested in the history and work of our organisation, and added that , ‘Connelly’s research has had a substantial influence on the development of our public engagement and outreach programme ….no other historian’s research has had a greater impact on knowledge and understanding within the CWGC over the period of the FWW centenary than that of Professor Connelly’ [d].

Enhancing understanding of the impact and legacies of FWW by engaging young people with innovative programmes and accessible educational resources

The Schools Battlefield Tours programme was a £6.3 million award-winning programme central to the national centenary commemorations. It provided the opportunity for students and a teacher from every state-funded secondary school in England to visit the Western Front battlefields and to develop associated projects within their school and local community. Connelly, a member of the Advisory Board, informed and shaped the programme; checked and advised on materials; and also shared ‘his extensive knowledge of the battlefields…[and] contributed significantly to the programme’s student tour booklet … to ensure this became a first-class publication’. The booklet has since ‘been used by more than 8,000 students and teachers’ [e]. The scheme engaged with more than two-thirds (2,350) of all English secondary schools between 2014 and 2020. Teachers reported that almost all (99%) of their pupils developed a deeper and broader understanding of the FWW. The British Future participant surveys suggest that there were lasting effects in terms of remembrance and awareness. Illustrating the longer-term impact on the teaching of history in secondary schools, 92% of teachers reported they would review their approach to teaching the FWW as a result of their participation in the programme [h].

Through Gateways, Connelly further strengthened the capacity of schools to teach the FWW, by designing and managing a programme of study in 22 schools in Kent and neighbouring counties (of which 95% of the schools were non-selective). This programme directly engaged nearly 1,600 students, with 55% of the students coming from areas of high socio-economic deprivation. The project encouraged schools to explore key humanities skills through the prism of the FWW. This was achieved through a series of special sessions focusing on history, literature and the visual arts. On completion of the project, 92% of students reported an increased interest in, and knowledge of, the conflict, while 75% stated an enhanced interest in the Humanities more generally [f].

Increasing capacity for voluntary groups to participate and engage in community activities

Gateways to the First World War Centre, led by Connelly, encouraged and supported public interest in the centenary, enabling communities across Britain to explore and share their FWW heritage. Two major aspects of Gateways’ work were to provide guidance and support for community groups developing applications to the National Heritage Lottery Fund (NHLF); and to provide training, networking, and showcasing opportunities for projects which were awarded funding. Gateways directly assisted 73 NHLF applications from groups in 53 separate UK parliamentary constituencies (the furthest being in the Outer Hebrides). In total these groups gained over £2.3million in funding [f]. Ten groups went on to make follow-on applications having gained experience and confidence by working with Gateways. Through Gateways, Connelly directly increased the capacity of both individuals and organisations to engage with the FWW and the heritage in their communities.

Using his research knowledge and the network he had built up over many years Connelly recruited a diverse team of collaborators to deliver the project. The diversity of expertise and interests in this team was central to Connelly’s aim of developing a public engagement methodology which encouraged different perspectives and interpretations of the FWW and which promoted effective collaboration between the academic world and the wider community. Gateways hosted over 150 training days and archive visits and supported 79 open days in partnership with the NHLF [f]. By working with collaborators Gateways enabled a wide variety of historical topics to be explored by an equally wide range of groups. Topics researched included: international experiences (particularly those of the British Empire); studies of women and children; people with disabilities; industrial and workplace experiences; and the fighting services. The findings were then expressed in an equally diverse range of innovative outputs including exhibitions, performances, films, websites, databases, apps, and booklets.

Demonstrating Gateway’s educational impact, a survey for The National Lottery Heritage Fund in 2018, found that 99% of respondents reported that engagement with the AHRC FWW Centres had improved their knowledge of the FWW and 80% reported that the projects had changed how people viewed the FWW’s impacts on the local community [h, i]. Feedback from Gateways’ collaborators reveals how the projects enhanced knowledge and research skills while also having positive effects on social wellbeing and inclusivity: a recently retired man who had found the adjustment difficult stated, ‘It revitalised [me]… I felt really buoyed up by it’ [g] while community groups described how ‘[participation] has helped us and local residents to… reduce social isolation – [it has] brought people of all ages together,’ Another project leader reported that ‘our volunteers have grown in terms of skills learnt and also developed outcomes in terms of increased confidence and self-esteem’ [f]; Amongst participants in Gateway’s projects, knowledge, self-confidence and self-esteem were improved while general transferrable skills were also developed and augmented.