A CHARITY set up 20 years to promote Dartmoor has won a national award for its Life In The First World War project.
The Dartmoor Trust, which holds an archive of some 20,000 moorland images, beat off rivals from across the UK to scoop the prestigious ‘excellence’ prize awarded by the Community Archives and Heritage Group.
Besides being the competition’s overall winner the trust also bagged honours in the ‘most inspirational’ category.
Other winners were Leyland Historical Society from Lancashire, Scotland’s Magic Torch group from Inverclyde and The After Alice Project from West Yorkshire.
Judges said the trust’s Great War offering – which touched on elements which made the War Horse book and film such a runaway success – was deemed a ‘showcase for good practice, looking at the First World War from the view of those left behind in rural communities.’
Judges felt ‘the whole project involved local groups across Dartmoor, linking local history groups and the national park.’
They added: ‘The background planning, with specified information for schools, across both English and science subjects, plus defined long-term archiving plans, put the project ahead of the other very strong contenders in the Most Inspirational category.
‘There was also a clear indication of the number of people who had visited the project and the views of visitors.’
Dartmoor Life In The First World War featured in an exhibition at the Dartmoor National Park Visitor Centre in Princetown last summer.
The prizewinning project, to be reprised in Princetown from next Friday until August 24, is now part of an outreach programme to residents and local schoolchildren, explaining the socio-economic conditions in the early 20th century and improvements over the last 100 years.
The project aimed to archive local material before the war recedes from memories, by drawing communities together at the research stage and encouraging people to contribute their own material to the archive.
The exhibition highlighted the use of the Dartmoor Military Training Area, the impact of the war on large estates, the removal of horses for the war effort and distinctive local angles, such as collecting sphagnum moss to treat wounds and horse chestnuts to make explosives – all of which still have particular local resonance.
Dartmoor Trust chairman Tony Clark said: ‘We are delighted to have won this award. It shows what can be achieved when local people come together, share experiences and honour their heritage.
‘Dartmoor Life In The First World War aims to preserve a part of our past that created such upheaval and suffering, but also brought communities closer.
‘This recognition by the heritage group is also a tribute to Dartmoor’s local history groups who inspired us with their interest and helped us research into local communities. We hope our experience encourages others.’