National Museums Liverpool Blog - Help make a Remembrance Banner

Soldiers often send things to their loved ones at home. During the First World War they often sent embroidered postcards, some of which are now in National Museums Liverpool's collection. The postcards, known as 'World War One Silks', were mostly produced by French and Belgian women refugees and became extremely popular with British and American servicemen on duty in France. Further information about them is on this web page about Silks.

Some of the remembrance postcards that have already been made for our banner

This Saturday you are invited to make your own postcard in remembrance of those that gave their lives during the First and Second World Wars in a free drop-in workshop, 1-4pm in the Learning base in the basement of Merseyside Maritime Museum. If you leave your postcard with us we will include it in a banner which we hope to display in the The Liverpool Pals and the First World War exhibition in the Museum of Liverpool when it opens in 2011. At the workshop this weekend you will also have the chance to find out about life in the trenches and how to trace your family’s history through military records.

The Liverpool Pals and the First World War exhibition will tell the story of the First World War as experienced by the ordinary people of Liverpool, either through participation in the fighting - focussing on the story of the Liverpool Pals – or through involvement on the Home Front. The main emphasis of the exhibition will be the particular Liverpool aspects of the story, set in a national and international context.

Lord Derby recruited one of the first Pals battalions in England from Liverpool in August 1914 when he suggested that men would volunteer if they could remain with work colleagues, family or neighbours. In effect the social structure of Liverpool was transferred to the front line. This exhibition will confront the realities of the loss of 16,700 Liverpool men, how it happened, and how it impacted on – and in some cases devastated - Liverpool communities.

Details of all events this weekend are on the Merseyside Maritime Museum's events and activities page, including this workshop and a new roleplayer performance on Sunday, 'Never at sea - the Wren's story'.