The hard work of archivists and members of the public to bring to life stories from the First World War has been recognised as a case study by the prestigious Imperial War Museum.

Durham County Record Office’s Durham at War was a four-year online project which ran from 2014 to 2018 to commemorate the First World War.

Durham at War is an interactive mapping website which tells the story of County Durham and its people during the 1914 to 1918 conflict.

The website acts like a giant virtual jigsaw, making the links between the archives, objects and sites that survive today, and helping to uncover new stories about local communities from more than 100 years ago. Members of the public were able to log in and add their own contributions and pin them to the interactive map.

Up to April 2019, more than 155,000 were recorded as having engaged with Durham at War, including almost 3,500 children and young people.

Earlier this year, Durham County Record Office was asked to submit a case study for the Imperial War Museum’s Mapping the Centenary project.

Details of the project have been now been published on the Imperial War Museum’s website.

Cllr Joy Allen, Cabinet member for transformation, culture and tourism at Durham County Council, said: “It’s great to see the Durham at War project receive national recognition in this way and it is testament to the hard work that staff at the Record Office and the Durham Light Infantry Collection and Archaeology teams have put into developing the website.

“We’d also like to thank the many members of the public who have contributed to Durham at War over the past few years by sharing their research; helping to expand the scope of the project and remember those who lived through and fought so bravely in the First World War.”

Durham County Council was awarded £475,100 by Heritage Lottery Fund to set up the project’s website, working in partnership with the Record Office, and the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) Collection and Archaeology teams.

To read details about Durham at War on the Imperial War Museum’s website go to https://blogs.iwm.org.uk/partnerships/2020/11/mapping-centenary-project-case-studies-part-four

More information on Durham at War is available on the project website at https://www.durhamatwar.org.uk/