Professor Chapman from the Lincoln School of Journalism is providing expert historical knowledge at county, agricultural and military tournament shows, encouraging members of the public to engage with the history and commemoration of the war, as part of our heritage.
Professor Chapman recently attended the Suffolk Show on 28th and 29th May and the BBC’s own live World War One event in Norwich town centre. She will now travel to the Colchester Military Tournament, which takes place on 5th and 6thJuly 2014 and represents the biggest military celebration in the UK.
This year’s tournament includes a live BBC World War One At Home exhibition, at which Professor Chapman will deliver a talk entitled “Humour as History” and answer questions about wartime experiences on the home front. She and her team of researchers from the University of Lincoln have also devised a public quiz based on the talk, and visitors will be able to make their own ID Permits, have a go at being a war reporter and meet experts from Imperial War Museums to search their families’ connections to the war. Visitors will also have the chance to meet the team from BBC East TV, radio and online as they broadcast live with Professor Chapman from The Colchester Military Tournament.
Professor Chapman is joining the BBC tour as part of her role as a consultant on the organisation’s pioneering series of programmes marking the centenary of the First World War. The World War One At Home series tells 1400 untold stories of the war, 100 years after it began. Supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Professor Chapman is one of 19 consultants selected from around the UK undertaking research to inform broadcast journalists from the BBC. Her findings have helped to reveal the story of the First World War through the people whose lives were transformed – in their homes, schools, churches, theatres, streets and factories.
Professor Chapman said: “I have spent a long time researching the biggest archive collection of material from the Great War in the world. I am therefore enjoying sharing my knowledge about the war to encourage media and community involvement in the centenary commemorations taking place this year, and through to 2018. We have found some amazing examples of the strength of the human spirit – peoples’ bravery, ingenuity and sense of adventure, as well as sadness, suffering, and hardship. This project offers a fantastic opportunity to take our fascinating research findings to an even wider audience.”
Professor Chapman’s research for this project examines the East of England, covering Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire and South Lincolnshire.
Professor Chapman’s ground-breaking research into how long-forgotten comic strips from 1914-18 contributed to the origins of modern international popular culture – both military and civilian – is also showcased in an on-going exhibition at The Cartoon Museum in London which runs until October 2014, entitled Never Again! World War I in Cartoon and Comic Art. Funded by the AHRC, Professor Chapman and her team of researchers have uncovered comics from around the globe, and explored their unique depiction of epic First World War events, and resulting influence on the public consciousness and cultural heritage.
To find out more about this exhibition visit The Cartoon Museum website, and for information on The Colchester Military Tournament, visit: http://www.colchestermilitarytournament.co.uk.