Blue Cross War Horse collection now open to the public

The Blue Cross animal charity have made available a special edition War Horse collection of material from their archives. Blue Cross has been helping animals since 1897 and cared for sick and injured horses during World War One. On the new site you can explore our images, memorabilia and stories from the front line…

"Take a look at our audio slideshows to find out more about the role of horses during World War One and discover a real-life story of a young boy and his horse on the battlefields of France. Step back in time and explore our historic gallery of photographs, books, logos and paintings from World War One or flick through the pages of our iconic book Blue Cross at War to learn more about our role in helping animals on the front line."

You can look at the archive on the Blue Cross website

First World War Victoria Cross paving stone design announced

The design of the paving stone which will commemorate recipients of the Victoria Cross during the First World War has been announced..

Charlie MacKeith from London was announced as the winner of the main paving stone competition. "His circular design seeks to ‘make one pause and remember’ and uses the material, form and lettering of the family of memorials used by the War Graves Commission, bringing this well understood layout into cities, towns and villages across the United Kingdom."

The paving stones will be installed in over 400 communities across the United Kingdom to commemorate those First World War soldiers who were awarded the Victoria Cross for valour ‘in the face of the enemy’.

The design will also incorporate an electronic reader which people will be able to scan using their smartphones to discover more information about their local Victoria Cross recipient.

You can find out more and see the design on the Gov.uk website

The National Archives launches its new First World War portal

The National Archives has launched a new First World War portal and announced its plans to mark the centenary of the First World War with an extensive programme, spanning a five-year period from 2014 - 2019.

The programme, First World War 100 , has primary sources at its heart and aims to attract a new audience for archives during the centenary, as well as offering historians and regular archive users fresh insights into this landmark conflict.

The  National Archives will be exploring key aspects of the war through the themes of diplomacy, technology, home front, air and sea, peace, bravery and courage, medicine and health, and global perspectives. The first of these themes, diplomacy, will be the subject of a conference at the Kew site in June 2014.

The National Archives will also open its unique collection of millions of First World War records through a rolling series of digitised record releases, including the popular unit war diaries, online and on site events and education resources from 2014, all of which will be accessible through the new portal.

Online collections - such as medal cards, service records and prisoner of war interviews - and resources including the popular My Tommy's War blog posts form part of the new First World War portal and ongoing centenary programme to draw attention to lesser-known series of records and help people to discover the stories behind the war.

You can find out more on the National Archives website