The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was founded in London in 1822, and soon added an R to the SPCA when Queen Victoria made it a royal society. Today the Society helps rehome over 100 pets every day in England and Wales. It has campaigned to introduce many laws to protect animals … Continue reading “200 Years of Care for Animals”
The This is England short-film festival in Rouen has a specific programme of short films for collège classes. This year’s selection takes us back to the First World War and forward to imagined futures in 2053 and 2087 as well as films on the UK today and contemporary issues. If you sign up for a collège … Continue reading “This is England 2023 films for Collège Classes”
Remember Together is a project that encourages British school children to research the history of their families or people in their community and the role they played in the World Wars, with a particular emphasis on unearthing the histories of those who are often forgotten in official Remembrance Day ceremonies, like the more than 3 … Continue reading “Remembering All Who Served”
Any image of people in the UK, Canada and Australia in November is likely to include some who are wearing a red paper poppy in their lapel. The Poppy Appeal for war veterans in the run-up to Remembrance Day began in the aftermath of World War I. Today, as the British and Commonwealth armies commemorate … Continue reading “Poppy Day”
The First World War was so devastating, countries were at a loss to know how to commemorate their dead. A hundred years ago, two years after the Armistice, Britain’s King George V inaugurated the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Cathedral, to honour all the anonymous fallen. Although the war had mobilised vast numbers … Continue reading “The Unknown Warrior 100 Years On”
The new World War I drama from director Sam Mendes, 1917, unfolds in real-time, tracking a pair of British soldiers as they cross the Western Front on a desperate rescue mission. Soldiers Blake and Schofield must travel nine miles across the treacherous war zone to deliver orders to stop a regiment attacking enemy lines within … Continue reading “1917”
One of the biggest successes in British theatre in recent years will be on stage in Paris for the first time in November and December. The National Theatre’s production of War Horse by Michael Morpurgo is an emotional rollercoaster of a story about a teenage boy and his horse during the First World War. The … Continue reading “War Horse Play in Paris”
To mark the centenary of the end of the First World War, Peter Jackson has restored old black-and-white archive footage of British servicemen’s life in the trenches. “They Shall Not Grow Old” takes its title from a 1914 poem and this resource fits perfectly into Shine Bright 1re Advanced File 2: “War will Not Tear … Continue reading “WWI: They Shall Not Grow Old”
A new documentary film by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson brings the soldiers in the First World War to life to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice. The First World War was the first major conflict after the invention of film cameras. To mark the centenary of the end of the War on … Continue reading “They Shall Not Grow Old”
Stubby, a stray dog, became the mascot of an American regiment in World War I and accompanied the soldiers so steadfastly that he was given the rank of Sergeant. A new animated feature brings this true story to life. Millions of animals were used by armies on all sides in WWI — it is estimated … Continue reading “A Canine Sergeant”