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June 2014
Exhibition: An Adaptable Trade: The Jewellery Quarter at War
Before the outbreak of the War in 1914, Birmingham’s jewellery industry was vast, with an estimated 70,000 people employed in manufacturing jewellery and supplying the trade. By 1918 over 200 firms had closed, and employee numbers halved - and yet Birmingham’s jewellery trade survived, retaining much of its former dominance. 'An Adaptable Trade' explores how the industry adapted to wartime austerity, the impact on local people, and the vital role played by women. Looking in detail at three prominent Jewellery…
Find out more »Historical Re-enactment: The Assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand
This historical dramatisation of the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the outbreak of the Great War will take place in Kings Heath Village Square, with the performance starting at 12pm. The performers are from Swanshurst School in Kings Heath and Moseley Muscular Dystrophy. The event will raise money for Muscular Dystrophy and in particular Abbi Bennett (@abbi1inamillion) who has Ullrich's Congenital MD.
Find out more »July 2014
Performance: Finger Trigger Bullet Gun
A Bosnian Serb finger pulled the trigger of the gun that started the First World War but who put the bullet in that gun? As Stan’s Cafe complete the process of remorselessly standing thousands of hand drawn domino figures in a precarious chain, we are taken behind closed doors in Berlin, Vienna and Belgrade to watch a conspiracy being built, a conspiracy that will lead to Sarajevo, a date with the Archduke, and that gun loaded with that bullet having…
Find out more »Talks: Beyond the Trenches, the Legacy of Women in WW1
At the end of the First World War thousands of men returned from the frontline suffering from shell-shock. Many were confined in Mental War Hospitals under martial law - with the risk of being sent on, without appeal, to asylums. A group of women recognised the need for a charity dedicated to helping these men rebuild their lives. They were the founding mothers of Combat Stress. In tribute to these women, Beyond the Trenches will discuss the contribution women…
Find out more »Concert: World War One and D-Day Commemoration Concert
A commemoration concert marking the 100 years of the commencement of World War One and the Second World War 70th Anniversary of D-Day 6th June 1944. Featuring the music of the time including Glenn Miller, played by the superb Don Mather Big Band with vocalists Gary Lewis, Colin Jordan and Mark Carter, and the Birmingham Military Community Choir.
Find out more »Conference: History of the First World War Masterclass
During the centenary of the First World War, the University of Wolverhampton's First World War Research Group is offering unique opportunities to explore key topics in great depth through lectures, seminars and conflict simulations in an intensive weekend of study at the Mount Hotel and Conference Centre in Staffordshire. Weekend package including accommodation and conference dinner: £330 Day delegate rate for Friday or Sunday: £85 Day delegate rate for Saturday: £135 Places are limited. To book your place now email…
Find out more »Art from Ammunition: Trench Art from the First World War
As part of a national programme to mark the centenary of the start of the First World War, this is a small display of objects from a Warwickshire-based private collection of Trench Art and is situated within Compton Verney’s own Folk Art collection galleries. Trench Art is a term used to describe objects made from the by-products of 20th and 21st century warfare, but is most widely associated with the First World War. The display includes decorated shell cases, carved…
Find out more »Exhibition: Soldier Stories: Birmingham and the Royal Warwickshire Regiment 1914-1918
Birmingham was the main recruiting area for the Royal Warwickshire Regiment at the beginning of the 20th century. This exhibition focuses on the stories of some of the Birmingham men who served in the Regiment in the First World War. During the course of the war the Royal Warwickshire Regiment raised 30 battalions of soldiers. Many of them came from Birmingham. They served in France, Belgium, and Italy as well as Gallipoli (Turkey) and Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). Many gallantry medals…
Find out more »Activities: Preparing for War
Throughout the summer holiday period Black Country Living Museum will be inviting families to get involved in drills, giving demonstrations of 1914 cookery and offering other crafty events.
Find out more »Exhibition: Brian Yale: First World War Battlefield Paintings
This exhibition of paintings by Cradley-born artist Brian Yale forms part of Wolverhampton Art Gallery's commemoration of the First World War. The paintings, dating from the 1980s, are based on sketches made on the spot of some of the most famous and tragic battlefield of the First World War.
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