Written evidence submitted by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

LESSONS FROM THE FIRST WORLD WAR CENTENARY

1.                                                                                                                                      We are pleased to respond to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee’s call for evidence on the lessons from the First World War (FWW) Centenary. The Government delivered and supported a rich and diverse programme to mark this historic milestone around the themes of remembrance, youth and education.

2.                                                                                                                                      As lead Department for the Centenary, DCMS delivered inclusive and engaging national commemorative events on the anniversaries of some of the key actions during the FWW. Through our programmes, and in partnership with other Government Departments, 14-18 NOW, Arts Council England (ACE), the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), the National Lottery Heritage Fund (formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund) (NLHF), Imperial War Museums (IWM) and many others, we created a framework for a fitting centenary - commemoratively, educationally and culturally. The Government was supported by expert advice and guidance from an Advisory Group of eminent individuals with broad expertise.

3. The Government’s objectives were to deliver a programme through:
1. a major programme of national ceremonial events;
2. an educational programme to put young people front and centre of the commemorative activity and create an enduring legacy;
3. community projects to ensure a legacy of remembrance throughout the country;
4. the transformation of IWM London to inspire new generations;
5. appropriate and active engagement with our international partners.

How were arts programmes leveraged to engage new audiences who may not otherwise have been aware of, or engaged in, commemorations? Was using the arts more effective than a traditional approach to commemoration?

4.                                                                                                                                      The use of arts and culture to tell the story of the generation that experienced the FWW was appropriate for a number of reasons. As there are no living veterans from the FWW an artistic and innovative approach was employed to tell the stories of those who experienced the FWW to modern audiences. The rich history of art - such as poetry and the visual arts - flowing from that period provided the inspiration for contemporary reflections.

5.                                                                                                                                      The successful Cultural Olympiad was used as the model for the creation of a small, unremunerated cultural board. Vikki Heywood was appointed as Chair to develop a cultural programme, 14-18 NOW, with clear objectives to deliver an appropriate programme of substance and impact that would use culture to reach and engage a wide demographic- especially young people. It was funded by ACE, the NLHF and the LIBOR fines. 14-18 NOW invited artists to make strong and exciting works that in some way drew on their reflection on the lasting impact of the First World War.

6.                                                                                                                                      During the Centenary, the 14-18 NOW programme engaged with 35 million people across the UK including 8m people under 25. These projects have been innovative and creative, using both physical and digital participation supported by learning and engagement activity in primary and secondary schools across the UK. Free outdoor events, such as ‘we’re here because we’re here’ and Pages of the Sea, appealed to a wide range of people including those who would not normally engage with arts and culture.

7.                                                                                                                                      The 14-18 NOW programme was complemented by a diverse range of artistic projects delivered by our partners. Supported by DCMS funding, the city of Manchester led events in the city to commemorate the Battle of the Somme. This included an evening concert at Heaton Park which used a range of artforms to engage audiences. The concert featured songs from the period performed by a national children’s choir interwoven with archive footage and dance. The Hallé Orchestra played a number of FWW linked pieces including music by George Butterworth, a young composer who died at the Somme. There were also readings of poems, letters and diary entries from those affected by the Battle.

8.                                                                                                                                      ACE funding supported Magpie Dance’s project to explore learning disabilities and the FWW. The project worked with a group of children and young people with learning disabilities to research and create multi-sensory learning resources and digital resources as well as performances, workshops and an exhibition at Bromley Library.

9.                                                                                                                                      Art and technology combined for the CWGC Faces of Thiepval project which worked alongside the Shrouds of the Somme art installation. The CWGC crowd sourced the personal stories of those represented by the Shroud figures. This online resource continues to grow and currently stands at 1,000 moving stories. The archive will be preserved by CWGC in perpetuity.

10.                                                                                                                                  This rich and diverse cultural programme was effective in helping the centenary to reach and touch individuals and communities who might be less inclined to engage with the more traditional approach. It is not a question of whether one approach is more effective than the other but rather that the two together enabled a broader and more diverse demographic to participate in the centenary. 

The Centenary commemorations aimed to reach school children and young people to connect them to the events and legacy of the FWW. To what extent did this happen?

11.                                                                                                                                  The key Government educational programme was the £5.3m Battlefields Tours programme funded by the Department for Education (DfE) and the MHCLG and delivered by University College London. The programme is providing the opportunity for up to four 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. An important benefit is the development of teachers’ knowledge and understanding of the FWW to support their teaching, and to make links to other related subjects in the curriculum. The programme has had positive feedback from both pupils and teachers. Since May 2014, over 2,850 schools and over 6,600 students and teachers have taken part and DfE has provided  further funding to extend the programme until March 2020. The Legacy 110 community project was launched in January 2015 to support schools to undertake projects following their visits and an annual award ceremony to celebrate innovative FWW projects by schools and young people. So far over 4.2m people in communities across England have been reached by this project.

12.                                                                                                                                  DfE also funded the Great War Debates which enabled students  to debate the causes, conduct and consequences of the  War at locations across the UK, and as a result, to broaden and deepen their knowledge and understanding of the conflict. 3001 students from 114 schools participated and 89% of the students attending reported a positive increase in their knowledge.

13.                                                                                                                                  The centenary programme included a large number of projects and activities which reached and engaged young people. The NLHF has funded 45 Youth Roots FWW projects which are wholly designed to be led by young people and engages both them and their peers with their local heritage. The projects are delivered in partnership between a youth organisation and a heritage organisation.

14.                                                                                                                                  With Government support, the CWGC launched an Internship Programme which provides opportunities for young people to work at some key CWGC locations in France and Belgium. The programme now in its third year, has been a resounding success allowing young people to guide visitors around the sites. CWGC Interns supported the delivery the DCMS national events in Belgium to commemorate the  Battle of Passchendaele in July 2017.

15.                                                                                                                                  A free DVD of the critically acclaimed Peter Jackson film ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’  which was developed for 14-18 NOW has been sent to all secondary schools in the UK alongside teaching resources for use in the classroom. A free copy of the Government’s book - “The First World War Centenary - How the Nation Remembered” - which showcases a cross-section of the thousands of events and projects held throughout the UK to mark the centenary, has been made available to every secondary school in the UK.

16.                                                                                                                                  The ballots for tickets to each of our national commemorative events have been open to all ages and young people have played a significant part in each event. For example, to commemorate the Battle of Amiens event DCMS supported a special International Students Programme with University College London in which students from the Allied nations undertook a number of visits and lectures and worked together to create an exhibition. National youth choirs performed at a number of the national events and the commemorations for the Battle of the Somme in July 2016 included the participation of  91 school, youth and community groups from Manchester and the north of England.

Did the commemorations inspire new community and volunteer involvement and engagement in the legacy of the FWW?

17.                                                                                                                                  A key part of the Government’s approach was to lead the nation’s major commemorative events while encouraging and supporting individuals and communities to learn and commemorate in ways which were important and meaningful to them.

18.                                                                                                                                  Following the events to mark the British Empire’s entry to the war on 4 August 2014, it was clear that there was huge public interest and appetite which was maintained throughout the centenary period, culminating in a large number of events across the country to mark the Armistice on 11 November 2018. Our partners responded with enthusiasm and commitment to support significant numbers of cultural and educational programmes, and funding  for community projects. 

19.                                                                                                                                  The NLHF FWW: Then and Now small grants programme was developed to help communities make links with the FWW generation. Grants between £3,000 and £10,000 were made available to help communities and groups across the UK explore, conserve and share their FWW heritage and deepen their understanding of the impact of the conflict. The programme’s success exceeded all expectations.  The budget was originally set at £6m but was increased due to the number of applications. By 31 January 2019, over £14m has been awarded to 1,754 projects. The number of first time funding applications was 57% for FWW projects compared to 41% for other heritage projects between 2013/14 and 2018/19. NHLF FWW projects were supported by 26,000 volunteers.  

20.                                                                                                                                  To mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, CWGC launched Living Memory, a UK wide initiative in partnership with Big Ideas Company, to encourage the public to reconnect with the war dead buried in cemeteries and churchyards in their own communities. It  encouraged groups to organise a commemoration of their own and ultimately, champion the sites in the future. More than 600 groups – from members of the Women’s Institute to football supporters – requested information about the project and 250 events took place.

21.                                                                                                                                  Volunteers have been a significant  part of the centenary supporting activity locally and nationally. 6,400 volunteers helped in the delivery of the 14-18 NOW projects and over half of them were volunteering for the first time. Nearly 2,000 volunteers from 28 areas of the UK were part of ‘we’re here because we’re here’ on 1 July 2016 to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme.  Each participant represented an individual soldier who was killed on that day in 1916.

22.                                                                                                                                  Young people from the National Citizen Service volunteered to support the delivery of a number of Government events including  at Passchendaele, Amiens and the Nation’s Thank You procession on 11 November. 10,000 people also volunteered to help with the National Archives’ FWW project. The Government supported FWW Memorials Programme also worked with volunteers to support and conserve their local war memorials.

How effective was the distribution of events across the UK? Were all regions and nations fully able to participate?

23.                                                                                                                                  The centenary programme sought to reflect the widespread impact of the war on communities across the UK. Only 53 so called ‘thankful parishes’ in England saw all their servicemen return; every single community in Scotland and Northern Ireland lost someone.

24.                                                                                                                                  The national events delivered by DCMS were held in the most appropriate locations. Attendance was open to everyone throughout the country. In some cases, the Department also delivered events in the UK to complement the national event held overseas. For example, Manchester was chosen to host the national service and events for the centenary of the Battle of the Somme given the link to the creation of the Pals battalions. Due to the significance of this battle, national vigils were held in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and County Down as well as at other locations throughout the country.

25.                                                                                                                                  For the Armistice, DCMS developed a website where participants could register their Armistice events. 3,690 events were recorded including 978 commemorative events and 2,712 bellringing events.

26.                                                                                                                                  The devolved administrations delivered their own commemorative programmes alongside the national commemorations to mark events that were of specific significance to each home nation. For example, the Scottish Government held a service of commemoration to remember the life of Dr Elsie Inglis; and the Welsh Government commemorated the life of the poet Hedd Wyn. Each nation worked closely and collegiately with the UK Government to ensure complementarity. The Chairs of each of the devolved administrations’ FWW panels were also members of the DCMS Advisory Group.

27.                                                                                                                                  Local communities embraced the MHCLG’s initiative to place a commemorative paving stone in the birthplace of every recipient of the Victoria Cross. Since August 2014, 361 stones have been placed in England, 70 in Scotland, 16 in Wales and 35 in Ireland. 145 stones representing Victoria Cross recipients from countries overseas were placed at the National Arboretum in Staffordshire.

28.                                                                                                                                  Of the 650 parliamentary constituencies, 591 (91% coverage) hosted a FWW project funded by the NHLF which equates to 375 out of 381 local authority areas (98% coverage).

29.                                                                                                                                  The 14-18 NOW programme was guided by the principle that funding for projects was spread widely throughout the UK. The Poppies tour, following their original display at the Tower of London in 2014, has been a particular success. Supported by LIBOR funding, over 4.5m people visited the Poppies at locations across the country including all of the home nations. The locations with the highest number of visitors were outside of London:  Hull Maritime Museum (726k visitors) and the CWGC Naval Memorial Plymouth (641k). The Poppies tour also supported the economy of their locations. For example, the Weeping Window at St George’s Hall, Liverpool between November 2015 and January 2016 had 360,000 visitors. Of those visitors, 44% came to Liverpool City Centre specifically to see the display with an estimated economic impact to the local community of £6m .

The Government and Lottery distributors made £50m available for the Centenary commemorations. Was this money spent effectively?

30.                                                                                                                                  At the launch of the Centenary programme in October 2012, the Government announced a £50m funding package:

-                                                                                                                                            £35m to support the regeneration of IWM London’s FWW galleries from IWM, LIBOR, DCMS and fundraising

-                                                                                                                                            a new £6m NLHF small grants programme

-                                                                                                                                            £2.7m of Lottery funding for the Tank Museum

-                                                                                                                                            £5.3m for schools’ battlefield tours from DfE and MHCLG

-                                                                                                                                            £1m from the National Heritage Memorial Fund for the restoration of HMS Caroline.

31. In addition, a combination of LIBOR and core departmental funds was provided to deliver the national commemorative events and a wider range of significant projects including 14-18 NOW, the War Memorials Fund, CWGC Interns programme, restoration projects for the Thiepval memorial and Edith Cavell’s grave. This is broken down into the table below.

32. The LIBOR funding was made available by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to support the national events and a range of FWW projects, with the flexibility to respond to public appetite - such as £2.95m to support the UK tour of the ceramic poppies. The core departmental funding for the centenary was secured and managed through the usual processes of the Spending Review.

33. The HLF provided £97m to FWW projects in response to the huge demand from the public.

34.                                                                                                                                  The high level of engagement and support from the public and local communities together with the significant educational outcomes as set out in this evidence satisfies us that the money was spent effectively.

How well connected were cultural organisations taking part in the Centenary? What role did the First World War Centenary Partnership play? How sustainable are the partnerships now that the commemorations have come to an end?

35.                                                                                                                                  Partnerships between organisations of all kinds played a key part in the success of the Centenary. The FWW Memorials programme was a partnership between Civic Voice, Historic England, IWM and War Memorials Trust. As part of the programme, workshops were held in communities to inspire people to engage with and care for their local memorials. Working together, these organisations supported the research, recording, conservation and listing of war memorials of the country. At the end of the listing project in September 2018, English Heritage had exceeded its target of 2,500 memorial listings. Public engagement in the War Memorials Register was high across all the home nations, increasing regional interest in memorials and the enthusiasm, and indeed, inspiration, for research, publication and conservation projects.

36.                                                                                                                                  14-18 NOW worked in partnership with 580 arts, cultural, community and volunteering organisations to deliver its programme and a number of those partnerships will continue.

37.                                                                                                                                  The FWW Centenary Partnership led by IWM was a network of over 4,000 not-for-profit organisations from 50 countries. It allowed partners to join the Partnership Extranet, use the official centenary logo and access a range of resources including the digital collection and guides. Following the success of the partnership,  IWM has announced the creation of a War and Conflict Subject Specialist Network that will provide a forum for sharing good practice, knowledge and skills in the same way that the FWW Centenary Partnership has and will initially focus on the forthcoming Second World War anniversaries.

38.                                                                                                                                  DCMS will support the IWM’s Digital Legacy programme with £100,000 of funding to help create a publicly accessible portal that will protect and retain as much of the content that was created for the centenary by heritage organisations as possible. This includes material from smaller organisations with no previous experience of digital archiving and no alternative way to preserve their work.

39.                                                                                                                                  IWM’s Lives of the FWW created a free online platform that brought together materials from museums, libraries, archives and family collections from across the world all together in one place, inspiring people of all ages to explore, reveal and share the life stories of those who served in uniform and the home front.

What are the overall lessons that can be learned for using the arts for commemoration, public participation in the arts, and volunteer involvement in local heritage initiatives?

40.                                                                                                                                  The FWW Centenary programme demonstrated how arts and culture can be used to reach those who would not normally participate. Through the work of 14-18 NOW to the national events, the Centenary has shown that by telling human stories and making connections between current and past generations, a strong engaging programme will build momentum and appetite among key audiences.

41.                                                                                                                                  The centenary was the first major commemoration of the digital age which resulted in an unprecedented quantity of high quality digital content which helped to engage  the public. Digital technology combined with digital heritage has been used in innovative ways to tell the stories of people from the FWW. For example, at the national event in Ypres in July 2017, archive IWM interviews with surviving servicemen was projected  onto the iconic Cloth Hall which was famously rebuilt after its destruction during the war. The Metro Boulot Dodo, an ACE National Portfolio Organisation, produced Empire Soldiers VR, an installation experience blending performance and technology to tell the stories of the forgotten Caribbean and South Asian soldiers of the FWW.

42.                                                                                                                                  The centenary programme has also demonstrated how arts and culture organisations can work with sports organisations to support commemorative activity and engage new audiences. A number of projects have used sport to tell the stories of those who served in the War. In 2017, Premier League Academies across the country researched local graves linked to the Third Battle of Ypres and shared this heritage with club fans through matchday programmes and presentations. Brighton FC collected football boot laces from teams in the city and used them to create a wreath to honour those who died in Battle which they laid at the Menin Gate in Ypres.

43.                                                                                                                                  DCMS has contracted the Centre for Strategy and Evaluation Services to undertake an evaluation of the centenary which will assess all the evidence to provide a full lessons learnt report for Government. Work is underway and it is due to conclude by April 2019.
     
44.                                                                                                                                  The Centenary programme has demonstrated that the arts and culture can be a powerful vehicle to engage, inspire and educate new - and particularly young - audiences. In keeping with the Government’s mainstream relationship with the cultural sector, cultural programmes must respect the artistic freedoms of the creative sectors if the programme is to be credible and able to attract the participation of respected and high quality artists. Collaboration and partnership working are essential ingredients if a programme of this nature is to be successful, building trust and creating a mutually supportive environment in which inspiring creativity can flourish. 

March 2019