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Soldier, Medic, Pacifist or Prisoner? Quakers in World War One; A Community Exhibition – Hannah Simons

Hannah Simons is a PhD candidate in the Department of Archaeology, University of York. Here she talks about her experiences as an intern at The Castle Museum while she assisted with a community led exhibition.

Since late September I have been undertaking an internship with York Castle Museum arranged by the Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past and the University of York.

The role was designed to support and advise a local community group as they created an exhibition. I worked with Quakers from the Friargate Meeting House who had thoroughly researched the roles of Yorkshire Quakers during the First World War.

Their research uncovered previously unknown facts about Quakers and other pacifists who lived in Yorkshire. It explores how Quakers, many of whom had pacifist beliefs, chose to act in WW1, and the challenges that faced them.

My role was to help to develop a cohesive exhibition with accessible text based on their excellent research. I assisted with the creation of an oral history film, editing text, and installing the display.

I feel that I managed to assist with the project and provide expertise on display of information while staying true to the Quakers’ aims and the voice of the display.

The Quakers have sourced some brilliant photos and interesting documents for display as well as building a full scale model of the rear of a Model T-ford ambulance unit.

 

The display has a strong visual impact for a community exhibition and I hope that visitors will be drawn into the room by sights of the ambulance and poppies, and the voices in the film.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my internship. The Quaker volunteers and Castle Museum staff have been fantastic to work with. As a prehistorian I was not very familiar with the stories of WW1, indeed the stories of those that refused military service in WW1 will be unfamiliar to many.

I have been moved by the stories of these Yorkshire people and have gained a new perspective on WW1.

I have great respect for the generation that lived through the war; it touched everyone’s lives, burdening pacifists and soldiers, governments and families. I hope that the museum visitors will enjoy visiting this exhibition and learning about this overlooked aspect of the war.

The exhibition will be on display in the Community Exhibition Room within the Home Front section of the 1914: When the World Changed Forever exhibition. It will be on display until 04 January 2015.

Click here for more information on Quakers in the First World War