The war that changed us all

THE curators of York Castle Museum’s latest exhibition, 1914: When The World Changed Forever, wanted it to be more than a commemoration of war.

The clue is in the title. While not shying away from the horrors of war – both in battle and at home – the exhibition also considers the aftermath of the conflict and offers, as curator of history Alison Bodley puts it, “a more rounded and reflective look at how culture and society’s values were revolutionised”.

So the final room offers ten ideas – not definitive, just suggestions from museum staff – about how the First World War changed the world forever. Things like the map of Europe, social change, women in the workplace and advances in medicine among many.

Before contributing their own thoughts and ideas, visitors must go to war. Assistant curator Philip Newton was my guide to the exhibition, the central part of a £1.7m project at the museum funded mainly by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The start of the walk-through exhibition sets the scene with a mural, one of several commissioned for the project, depicting the gates of York and city panorama along with a 1908 car to illustrate how the new world was coming to the Yorkshire city.

Like much on display the vehicle comes from the museum’s own collection and has been in storage. Getting it into the building wasn’t easy. “The car was too big to come through the door so we had take some of it apart and bring it in through a window,” says Philip.

It’s also appropriate because Dr John Kirk, the Pickering doctor who founded the museum in 1938, was a car racer and used to race on the Moors.

A mangle and old bath tub on display show that not everyone had it so good at the time.

Running water was a luxury only some had.

Here too is the work of artist Captain HL Oakley, one of the most talented and prolific silhouette artists of the 20th Century who enlisted in 1914 and chronicled the men and the battles of the Great War in his silhouette art.

Visitors then report to the recruitment office to find out how to sign up for war. The exhibition offers the chance to follow the story of real life local characters, including Dr Kirk and bookkeeper Alice Battersby, throughout the war and beyond. Objects and images bear logos identifying each character as the tour of duty progresses.

A display showing a soldier on his way to the front line

Boarding a train carriage – passing scenery filmed on the North York Moors – begins the immersive part of the journey through the exhibition with objects that soldiers would have taken to the front laid out for visitors to inspect. There’s a reminder too of the bombardment of Scarborough and Hartlepool. A sketchbook by Albert Ernest V Richards, who served as a lance corporal with the 10th Hussars, shows his impressions of being at war.

As far as possible stories are attached to exhibits. “The objects are brilliant but we like to have stories with them. We need context. Every object is important but we like to give the character story as well, rather than just say, ‘This is a gun’,” says Philip.

At this point visitors go “over the top” to see conditions recruits faced. The sound of gunfire shatters the air at frequent intervals.

So do voices – German voices because the two sides dig tunnels within feet of each other and could hear each other talking.

There’s a crawl-through for children to experience along with items found in trenches. These include two tins – a cigarette tin sent by Queen Mary and a chocolate tin sent by York’s Mayor as a morale booster and reminder of home.

The first of three Victoria Cross medals from the museum’s collection is on show here. The rarest features the blue naval ribbon.

The clash between new and old technology is everywhere, as in the early gas masks, which are quite unlike the iconic ones we recognise from the Second World War. Horses were used extensively because they were able to navigate over rough terrain where vehicles became bogged down. Horses had gas masks too, designed to be worn over the nose and mouth like a nosebag.

Lauren Masterman looking at a tray of original artificial eyes used by returning soldiers after the war

The paper mâché “dummy head” on show would have been raised over the parapet to draw enemy fire, with the bullet’s trajectory through the head enabling soldiers to pinpoint the location of the sniper.

“These are quite rare because they would have been used and broken. They’re very lifelike. Some people made a little hole in the mouth and put a lighted cigarette in to make it as real as possible,” says Philip.

Moving into a German trench, you can see they’re a lot better designed, made of wood rather than sandbags like the British. “The Germans were the first to dig in so they chose the upper ground, giving a better perspective over the battlefield,” he says.

Look up and you’ll see a tank moving overhead, illustrating the mechanisation of war and a sight both amazing and petrifying for those who’d never seen such armoured vehicles before.

Among the German items are a spork, a backpack lined with fur for warmth and a hat worn over the German helmet to cover up the gold top that made the wearer in a trench a potential target.

The role of naval warfare, tanks and planes is explored, as is the advances in medical treatment that came about through treating casualties of war. Back on the home front, there’s an idea of life in wartime York with rationing – only two courses at lunch and no meat on Friday, for instance – and the make-do-and-mend policy that saw old clothes or curtains turned into clothes.

The end of the tour offers a room for reflection.

Philip Newton, assistant history curator at York Castle Museum, places the only known surviving original dummy sniper head in a case

Visitors can write their thoughts on the war on blackboards, an idea that proved so popular they were full by the first weekend. Guests can also tweet reactions which are shown on a live feed in the exhibition @york1914

• 1914: When The World Changed Forever opened at York Castle Museum on June 28 – 100 years to the day since Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, sparking a chain of events that led to the outbreak of war. An official opening takes place later this month with the exhibition continuing until 1919. The Heritage Lottery Fund Grant will also be used to deliver a four-year programme of activities to accompany the exhibition. Further information 01904-687687 or visit yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk