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TEACHERS’ GUIDE
We have prepared some guide information for teachers. This accompanies additional material, most of which is now included in this website, and together these created a pack to aid to research topics or ideas for class sessions.
MIDDLEWICH AND THE GREAT WAR
Contained in this pack are examples of research or topic ideas for class sessions. The pack also has some information on Middlewich itself during World War One and signposts for further research and information as well as contacts for help.
Contents include:
- The Great War Community Exhibition – the original idea
- Mayors speech – on the Project launch
- Middlewich Timeline draft – As we know about Middlewich so far, we will ensure that we have a clear timeline available for the exhibition and will be making use of Imperial War Museums exhibition resources to print and mount the general War timeline. This will ensure that people can see the general pattern of the war and when significant changes or battles took place. Doing this allows us to be more versatile about the type of projects people can or want to do.
- War Memorial in the Bull Ring – One of the memorials in Middlewich – there are four more, ICI’s cenotaph on Brooks Lane, Memorial in St Michael and All Angels, on the wall of the ANSA offices, Cledford and in the Council School.
- Opening of the War Memorial from Allan Earl’s book pages 155,156
- Example pictures from Middlewich 1900-1950 by Allan Earl
- Wheelock Street dated around 1905-1915 – Postcards were a popular form of communication between families, especially of town scenes.
- Roll of honour booklet, sample pages. Listing of the fallen, injured, servicemen, and honours received. (kept at Chester Record Office)
- Certificate given to all who served from Middlewich – kept by Middlewich Heritage Society
- The Cheshire Hunt Poem by C F Lawrence – Town Clerk for Middlewich Urban District Council (MUDC), wrote poetry for commemorative booklets and to raise money for the Church Bazaars. He also wrote short stories and history of Middlewich (not always correct!)
- Recipes written by Mrs Wilkinson from 1889 onwards – very little chance of recipe books being printed let alone afforded, generally women wrote down their own recipes passed down the generations or given by friends. (donation from Allan Earl)
- Fred Bunn Senior unloading at Weston Point docks – This image is probably around 1930’s but this type of stone / building materials were carried regularly on the canal system. (donation from Fred Bunn)
- Christmas Poems for Middlewich Boys 1917 – booklet produced by the MUDC, written by C F Lawrence to raise funds for the war effort and comfort for the men fighting. – (kept at Chester Record Office)
- Painting example ‘The Mud of Flanders’ – Artistic expression of Soldiers and war artists capturing the actions of war, some more literal than others. (image scanned from material loaned by Mr & Mrs Cunnion)
- Industry at War, ICI, example study. – Industry played a vital role, in our area ICI was one of the most revolutionary in terms of experimental weaponry and scientific advancement, not just of warfare but discoveries which shaped our world as we know it today.
- Example from the Middlewich Urban District Council minute books – Minute books are records of council or parish meetings held in Wartime and illustrate the kind of day to day running’s of the town along with national directives and reported casualties which were not yet printed in the papers. Councillors personally visited the bereaved families. (kept at Chester Record Office)
- Potters and Sons pair of working boats moored with the family on board, taken around 1920 – permission from Fred Bunn
- Sample of Wartime posters, collected by local Historian Allan Earl
- Red Cross War Records for Mrs Kay, record supplied by the Red Cross, Mrs Kay was awarded the OBE for her work with the Red Cross in Middlewich, especially for the hospital on Brooks Lane.
- Extracts on the Middlewich Hospital – what do we know about the Red Cross hospital so far? Information supplied by Allan Earl.
- Examples of teacher’s resources on line (BBC) – There are many websites looking at teachers resources for the Great War – here is one example. A list of some of the others is below.
- Cartoons from the front (image scanned from material loaned by Mr & Mrs Cunnion)
- 1/4 Battalion diary record, South Lancashire Regiment. – donation from a Middlewich Family, war records can also give us accounts of various battalions in action, in rare occasions personal diaries exist giving the first person account of war.
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission – Joseph Arrowsmith – this example shows the type of information held by the War Graves Commission, there is also a guide to the cemeteries which are helpful if a visit is possible.
- The Shropshire Union Fly-Boat Project – Details on Saturn the Fly-boat, this is already booked for Middlewich Schools and will for next year carry the WW1 theme through the sessions. Details are below for bookings.
For full project information and further galleries please see Middlewich during the Great War
ONLINE RESOURCES AND TEACHING SERVICES/INFORMATION
Chester Record Office
Imperial War Museum
Chester Military Museum
www.cheshiremilitarymuseum.co.uk
BBC
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/worldwarone/teacher
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
There are plenty of websites going up with WW1 material but perhaps the BBC and IWM are best because these will link into the TV and Radio programmes which get to a wider audience. IWM has received a large amount of funding to deliver a WW1 project out to schools and the community; they have produced some exhibition material for community events which we will use in October. We signed up as a partner to IWM so we can access more materials and can work with individual schools on resources, visits and helping towards a Middlewich Archive which will be deposited with IWM (and at Middlewich) after the events we run in the Town. It is therefore vital that all projects are recorded in some way either photos, scanned copies of work, social media or filming projects.
Contact
Kerry Kirwan, Heritage Development Officer for Middlewich Town Council. –
Tel. 01606 833 434