World War One At Home

partnership with Imperial War Museums, more than a thousand

stories from your experiences will be told over the next two years.

Robert Hall has been finding out more. 3 million people have visited

the Imperial War Museums here at offered keys since it opened in 2002

`` at Salford Quays. This year, thousands more of all

ages welcome here to learn about the First World War, the conflict which

claimed 16 million lives and which turned virtually every UK community.

The BBC has joined with Imperial War Museums at Salford and in London to

unearth more than a thousand new stories which link the places we

live in today to the events of a century ago. We are going to show

you just a few of them. Here is a taste of what is coming up.

In response to the suggestion from the Dorset education committee, many

of the older children have volunteered to collect acorns and

horse chestnuts for the Royal Navy will cordite fact tree at Holton

Heath. `` the Royal Navy cordite factory Holton Heath.

These women for a `` were a long way from the archetypal genteel

Edwardian league this `` ladies. 100 years ago, Lizzie was doing her bit

for the war as much as any Sheffield person. This is where the miniature

rifle range was, and this was where Carl Odey was brought on the morning

of his execution `` Carl Lody was executed by firing squad.

On the 22nd of August 1914, this gun fired the first artillery rounds of

the war near Mons, in Belgium. Communities back home would find

themselves on the front line all too soon, including the peaceful seaside

town of Scarborough. On one winter today, German warships launched an

unprovoked and shocking attack. Michelle Lyons of Look North the

story. On the day of the bombardment, my mother came here for

holy Communion at eight in the morning. And during the Communion

service, the bombardment started and the church was one of the first to

be hit. The intense shelling left a large roof in the whole of St

Martin's on the hill in Scarborough, and as hundreds of visitors and

residents fled the seaside town, one woman decided to stay, as she had an

important engagement to keep. My parents were to be married in the

church, later on. And after the bombardment, she went around and

pick up a piece of shrapnel, which we still have, and then had a

discussion with the vicar, and they decided that the wedding would go

ahead full of this attitude that life must go on prevailed in

Scarborough, and is tourism industry was bonded to the aftermath of the

bombardment. Now people were not coming to the seaside town of fresh

air and fun, they were coming to survey the damage. It is difficult

to imagine postcards of blown out ill thing is being produced. We had

one of the major coastguard producers in Scarborough. There were

also ceramic souvenirs. We have a lovely one in our collection which

is the lighthouse with a whole blown through it. I have not seen many

examples of that. And there were pieces of shell that were not just

circulated, but sold as well. And they were mounted on blocks of wood

and pieces of metal. And there is one legacy of the bombardment in

Scarborough which is still attracting attention, Number 2

Wykeham Street. It was badly hit. A mother and three of her children

died as a result. This house may have a macabre history, but people

are still interested in its past. I have had quite a few people on a

regular basis. Every year, somebody knocks and enquires, did I know

anything about the house? A lot of them bring books and pictures with

them and want to show me what has gone on. It took years for the town

to recover from the bombardment. Compensation for the damage was slow

in coming, so residents had to rally round and do the best they could

with the money they had. But slowly and surely, Scarborough made a

comeback as the tourist destination we know and love today, made famous

by its beautiful views and not its ugly past.

On the home front, all sorts of people were lending a hand,

including workers at a cordite factory in Dorset. Cordite was an

explosive propellant used in all sorts of weapons, and because the

Germans were attacking supply convoys, the British army was

running short. The answer lay literally on the ground, and the

government enlisted children to help out. Former war correspondent Kate

Adie set out to investigate for BBC South.

The Royal Navy was the most powerful in the world in 1914. This gun fired

the first British shot in World War I. It is now in the Royal Navy's

national museum in Portsmouth full of the need for munitions for this

gun and millions of others led to enormous demand on the whole of the

country. The remote area of Holton Heath in Dorset became home to the

Royal Navy's cordite factory. Commissioned by Winston Churchill,

and first Lord of the Admiralty, Holton Heath was the ideal

location. Isolated, a good water supply, a railway and the local

workforce. Today, the site is an industrial park, but its original

purpose is still apparent. John England worked here in the 1950s.

This is the main laboratory. And behind this little buildings was the

storage of chemicals which were to be kept out of the laboratory.

Cordite is a mixture of gun cotton and nitroglycerin , drawn out in

strands like spaghetti. A lot of ladies came in on the trains full of

they got called the glamour puffers. The girls who came here

were given books about what to do and the conditions of work. And one

of those survives? What strikes you about it? No smoking. And you have

got to watch out for dangerous chemicals. This could be potentially

extremely dangerous. It could. They will air out cordite onto benches,

and then they would have to cut it to length, probably still hot. Does

it have any effect on them? It does, unfortunately, because

nitroglycerin will absorb into the skin and that will give you

headaches, I'm afraid. In 1917, a problem threatened to stop

production. A crucial ingredient, acetone, was being imported from

America, but naval blockades in the Atlantic were stopping the supply

ships. A Jewish chemist called M3 macro came forward with the answer,

a new `` a new process was invented by a chemist called Chaim Weizmann.

Maize was what he was working with. He did try potatoes, but people

wanted to eat those. What was available in the autumn of 1917 was

acorns, and even conkers were used. So, who were the experts at electing

conkers? Schoolchildren, of course. Here at Lockyer's School in Corfe

Mullen, the children are learning about their school's connection to

World War I. The proof of that connection is here in the school

logbook. Dated the 19th of October, 1917. In response to the suggestion

from the Dorset education committee, any of the older children have

volunteered to collect acorns and horse chestnuts for the Royal Navy

will cordite factory at Holton Heath. What happened to Chaim

Weizmann later in life? He became the first president of the state of

Israel. When the cordite came out of the factory, it would go through the

harbour and out into the channel. The cordite went by barge to the

naval depot in Gosport. This is now the museum of naval firepower, where

you can see what cordite actually looks like. The children have come

here today, and it is going to take a big leap of the imagination to

connect all of this with the conkers collected by their school in 1917.

Much can be learnt inside the museum, but to see one of the

exhibits, they have to go outside. Big guns were fired relentlessly

throughout World War I, on land and at sea. People living in the south

of England sometimes heard the thunderous Arar Drover in northern

France. Luckily, such sounds are rare today `` they heard the

thunderous barrage. Today might be the first time some of these

children have heard a gun fire in front of them. Black powder

substitutes for cordite here, for safety reasons. Oh, my days! This is

just one tiny element of a huge world war, but it shows the way that

war reached into everyone's lives, whether they liked it or not. The

scientists, the sailors, the women who made munitions, all made their

contribution, even children, collecting vital conkers for

cordite. A world at War led to great social

change, with men away at the front, women stepped into many of the roles

they had left hind. The women of life in Northumberland were among

thousands who met that challenge, but their reputation as equal

opportunity pioneers was not just one in the workplace. This story

comes from Gerry Jackson of Look North in Newcastle.

She was a minor's daughter. Tall, strong and only 17. And a

goal`scoring phenomenon. Organised women's football had begun in the

1890 smack, but it was not until the Great War that their game became

generally accept it. Times were changing fast. Women were taking on

jobs vacated by men, and they were the vast majority of munition

workers applying the front lines overseas. It was often hard physical

work. Those with energy to spare began organising themselves into

football teams. The best of them were Blyth Spartans Ladies, and

their star centre forward, Bella Reay. Nearly 100 years on, her

granddaughter is walking in her footsteps. There were crowds of

sometimes 22,000, which was a lot of people in those days. Some of them

don't get that now. In one season, Bella's team were unbeaten in all

their 30 games, and she scored 133 times. So on average, it was at

least three goals a game. I don't think there was ever a game when she

did not score. What would the atmosphere have been like at this

ground in those days? When you consider that the people were

working very long hours, seven days a week, often, with very little time

off, there was nothing else in the way of release for them from the

hard work. And suddenly to be able to come to what is after all a

beautiful ground, and see a prop and match between two teams of women, it

was unique. The matches drew ever bigger crowds, all raising funds for

the war effort. For some people, there was the novelty of seeing

women in shorts. For others, that was a minor scandal. But these women

were a long way from your archetypal, genteel, delicate

Edwardian ladies. Some of the language that could have been heard

here was a bit industrial. But it was not just the language. They

could be quite violent. Kicking and hacking one's opponent was common

among the girls. Della herself commented on the fact that she

sometimes came up against some big, hard ladies and had to give as good

as she got. This helps explain why she was so successful! In 1918,

blithe beat allcomers to win the north`east munition cup.

Bella, naturally, scored a hat`trick in the final. When she was

interviewed, she said, I was good, but I know I was good. It is nice to

think she was that good. We have a gold medal to prove it. It is nice

to think that you have a bit of history behind your family. So,

Bella and her colleagues were pioneers and their exploits could

have been a real springboard for women's football. Unfortunately, in

1921, the FA officially banned it. That ban was not lifted until the

1970s. Bella herself worked well into her 60s for a local farm. I

sometimes wonder if, when she was working the fields, she cast her I

in the direction of Croft Park and heard faint echoes from the past of

people shouting her name, and imagined herself 17 years old again.

The First World War had a voracious appetite for new recruits, and if

you were a man of God, joining up you were a man of God, joining up

was a One such man was in school chaplain. The Reverend Richard Coles

was also chaplain at Wellingborough and we asked to reflect his

predecessor's choices. Lord, how many are my adverse arrears? Many

are they who say to my soul, there is no help for you enjoy God. Before

the war to end all wars, Bernard was the chaplain at the school. He was

born not far from here and educated at Jesus College What turned this

man of God into a man of war? In Cambridge. How could he live with

what he did on the killing fields of France? I am about to walk a while

in his shoes to find out about Bernard.

I am in northern France on the banks of St Quentin Canal. We are trying

to get a feel for what he did here. Cloaked in fog. He has two get his

men across this canal anyway he can, dry them back and into the open

country they owned. `` beyond. This is where he won his Victoria Cross.

He fought mortal, hand`to`hand combat. He could see the whites of

their eyes as he took the lives. The Germans are not giving ground, so it

is intense, it is personal. He can actually see it there. He becomes a

killing machine. Revolver in one hand, riding crop in the other,

driving the whole line forward, and for that he gets The Victoria Cross.

But four days later, just weeks before the end of the war, he was

killed here by a German sniper. It was just before sunrise that he

fell, shot through the heart. He would never return to see his wife

Doris and he would never see his son, whom she was carrying. Just

three miles away from where he fell is this British cemetery, where I

found his grave. According to his obituary, he never forgot that he

was a priest of God. A great priest, who in his days pleased God. In some

ways, I feel quite close to him. We are both priests, we both come from

the same place, but in other ways, I feel very distant from him. I can't

imagine what it was like to lead his men so heroically in battle. But I

feel close to him in the cemetery as he lies alongside his Allman

comrades. `` his fallen comrades. It reminds us that we all come to the

same place. The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God.

War brought change to people, but it also brought change to buildings. In

the case of one national landmark, war service was just a continuation

of its purpose. The Tower of London had been a place of imprisonment and

execute tuition, but it could now do its duty once more. `` execution. My

dear ones. I have trusted God and he has decided. Tomorrow, I will be

shot here in the tower. Those were the last words of the no tourist

German spy call Hans Lodi. He was executed on the 6th of November

1914. His crime, spying. Lody was the first man to be executed here

since 1743. The public was aghast that an enemy of the state had moved

among them. The country was already in the grips of war with Germany and

Lody had been sent to gather intelligence on the country's

defences. The Secret Intelligence Service were already on Lody's tale.

`` tail. He was captured and faced trial, he was found guilty and

sentenced to death by firing squad. It is here where the executions took

place. Not in this car park, but this was where Lody was brought on

the morning with execution. `` the morning of his execution. A total of

11 executions, nine of which within this rifle range and two were in the

malt. `` moat. It is more than the executions of Henry VIII within the

walls of the tower. A grisly part of history. Records are kept at The

National Archives. This is the file by Carl Frederick Muller. We know he

was found guilty of sending letters in invisible ink. This is the letter

with the secret writing. What did he use for invisible ink? They said it

was made from a lemon. And here is the lemon, this was part of the

evidence given in court, which led to his execution. 11 German spies

were caught and executed at the Tower. They had come to spy for

Germany, but lost their lives by doing so. The learning centre here

is all about giving children hands`on experience of history and

the commemorations are about convincing today's generation that

they can connect with events from the history books. One item bound to

catch their attention is the part played by animals. The story of

Warhorse captivated viewers, but is there are other stories as well.

Deployed to carry soldiers in the cavalry regiments and to pull

artillery, ambulances and supply wagons. Most horses were sent to the

Western front to help pool vehicles. This elephant filled in for horses.

She was loaned to scrap metal businesses to pool carts around the

city. The government requisitioned all the animals and all the animals

from circuses were put to the war effort. Most of the horses went to

the front to be requisitioned for the circus animals. The Indian

elephant became a familiar sight on the cobbled Sheffield streets. This

is the only footage of her pounding around, shackled to a weighty load

with a bunch of onlookers behind. Jill bring the war, she was based

here at Castle house. It was opened by a vet in 1900 as a kind of

multistorey stables. Inside, there are low brand is to allow horses to

get to the top level. It was the perfect home for a heavy,

hard`working beast of burden. Stories about the elephant have

passed down generations. Charlie Cook's dad frequently told tales of

this elephant. My dad came from a large family with eight brothers.

They used to come down to the main road and follow the elephant. They

used to throw things at it and chase after it, so the men who were the

drivers would chase them off, usually with a stick and if they

caught them, give them a thick year as well. `` a thick ear. My

favourite story is that a tractor engine got stuck and the elephant

pushed it out of the way. That is a massive piece of kit for an elephant

to push. 100 and go, she was doing her bit for the war as much as any

Sheffield person. The image of the animal with pedestrians became

routine. This elephant earned her place in Sheffield folklore. For the

past half hour, we have given you a flavour of the stories which our

teams around the UK have been tracking down. Some of those stories

may be on your own doorstep. Some of them, you will be hearing about as

this centenary un`folds. Perhaps via TV, radio or via our website. For

now, from the Imperial War Museum at Salford, goodbye.

It is a beautiful day across so many parts of the country today,