FIRST WORLD WAR ARTEFACTS RECORDING PROJECT
Recorders’ notes
Thank you very much for helping the Trust with this project – without
your help we would not be able to achieve this important and sensitive
piece of work.
I am sure it cannot have escaped your attention that 2014 sees the centenary of the
outbreak of World War 1, the ‘war to end all wars’. As part of this commemoration, the
Trust is undertaking a project to record all of the WWI memorials that exist within its
churches and churchyards, even if the churchyard is not in the Trust’s care, either to
groups of people or to individuals. Our intention is to create a web based resource
to encourage people to explore their family history through churches and
monuments. We want people to share and respond with their own personal
stories and memories....
Memorials to those that fell or were injured in the war can take many forms, but are
more usually a memorial panel of timber or stone that record individual names,
sometimes regiments, from the local community.
Other types that you might find are:
 Stained glass windows (more commonly to individuals or siblings)
 Roll of Honour
 Individual memorials
 Memorial books
 Flags and textile banners
 Uniforms, medals, regalia
 Lych-gates.
 War Grave Commission headstones in the churchyard
This list is not exhaustive so we would ask you to look around the church and churchyard
to see if you can spot any other artefacts.
Please record each artefact on a WWI Artefacts Record Sheet, designed specifically for
this project, attaching a minimum of two photos, all as noted below. If you are unsure or
there is anything you do not know, please leave blank and flag it up when you return the
completed form.
Above all please do not take risks when undertaking the recording work, e.g. climbing
ladders, working in low levels of light where you might stumble. If you have any
concerns about safety please do not proceed and discuss these with your volunteering
officer.
The form should on the whole be straightforward and self-explanatory but the following
will help keep the information as consistent as possible. Please do not fill in any boxes
where the background is grey (3 no.) as this is for our office use.
Recorder’s Name and Contact Telephone Number – These details are for CCT office
use and will not be shared publicly.
Church dedication and geographical location – which church are you in, and where
is it? E.g. St. Benedict, Bristol
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2
Item/title – what is it? E.g. war memorial, flag, stained glass window
Location within church or churchyard – please give straightforward instructions using
compass directions, so if a visitor or member of staff wanted to find it they could do so
relatively easily e.g. west wall of north aisle or 14 paces north and 5 paces west from
north aisle north door.
Dimensions – please give approx. dimensions in centimetres or metres. If difficult to
measure, best guesses will be sufficient!
Physical description – how would you describe it to someone over the telephone e.g.
war memorial in carved wood, three panels. Gilded lettering recording the men who were
killed in action in the centre panel, carved relief of war scenes on right and left panels.
Historical associations or references – WWI lasted for just over 4 years and key
events took place during this time, e.g. the battle of the Somme, Passchendaele. Some
memorials, particularly those to individuals, may make reference to these and
researchers will be keen to search and find this information.
Materials/techniques – stone, timber, plaster, silk, metal……….and any applied
decoration, such as gilding, paint etc.
Artist/makers/author – for some of the more ornate or special artefacts the person
who designed or made the artefact may be recorded. Usually this is on the side or
underneath where it can be read but only if looked for. We expect most WWI artefacts
will not have any such marks but please take a look.
Inscription – this may be to a single person on an individual memorial, or a list of
names and possible regiments on a memorial board or roll of honour. Please record
everything you can read, however insignificant it may seem, including dates and all
initials. If there is insufficient space on the form please use a blank page and attach at
the back/end. Please copy the inscription EXACTLY as it appears on the memorial; for
instance, keep all abbreviations as they are, use capital letters if that is how they appear
on the memorial, and indicate when
Condition – is the artefact generally in good, fair or poor condition – please use one of
these three terms and give detail if you consider the memorial to be in a poor condition.
Photographs – please attach two colour digital photographs of the artefact, one a close
up and one giving its context within the church.
Date recorded - please finish the form by noting the date.
We’d be grateful if you would send completed forms to the Trust as follows:
Electronic forms - ww1project@thecct.org.uk
Paper forms - to your local Volunteering Officer or alternatively post FAO Susan van
Schalkwyk, The Churches Conservation Trust, Society Building, 8 All Saints Street,
London N1 9RL