The Dominion Geordies of the First World War

The Dominion Geordies of the First World War

Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and Northumbria University present Dominion Geordies in World War One, a new display at Discovery Museum until 13 November 2016.

Over 7,000 men and women from the North East of England served in the Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand armies during the First World War. The new display at Discovery Museum presents individual stories of men who, having travelled thousands of miles to the various dominions to make new lives, enlisted and fought for their adopted countries.

The display presents a small insight into continuing research that aims to understand why these men and women left the region before 1914, what drove them to they join the dominion armies, and why many of those who survived the war chose to make their lives in distant lands.

The Dominion Geordies is a yearlong project at Northumbria led by Dr James McConnel, Reader in History at the University. Through a network of international volunteers, the project researches the lives of men and women from the old counties of Durham and Northumberland who served with the land forces of Australia, New Zealand, and Canada between 1914 and 1918. As well as the display at Discovery Museum, the project will produce an online database, a short documentary, and a commemorative beer.

Adam Bell, Keeper of History, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, said: “We’re delighted to host this exhibition at Discovery Museum. The heroism of South Shields-born John Simpson Kirkpatrick (‘the man with the donkey’) is one of the better known tales of local lads in the First World War’s Dominion armies, but there are many more to be discovered in this truly fascinating display.”

Dr James McConnel, Northumbria University, said: “It’s great that the Discovery Museum is hosting this exhibition and so allowing local people to learn about this otherwise forgotten group of men and women who are an important part of the region’s wartime history.”

The Dominion Geordies in World War One is on display at Discovery Museum, Newcastle upon Tyne, until 13 November 2016. Northumbria offers a range of courses in the Humanities and was rated Top 20 in the UK for the quality of its History research publications in the Research Excellence Framework 2014. To find out more about studying History at Northumbria come along to our September Open Day by clicking here or visit: www.northumbria.ac.uk