"Word of Mouth"

Sunday, 27 April 2014 06:21

A photo of the buttons being distributed

A button campaign looks to get the word out about the 100 year anniversary of the First World War

WOODSTOCK -- This year marks 100 years since the start of the First World War.

A group of local museums, libraries, legions and historical societies are planning 100 special events and programs hosted throughout Oxford County between 2014 and 2018 to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of World War One.

Patricia Phelps, Curator of Annandale National Historic Site in Tillsonburg says they'll be getting the word out with a "word of mouth" button campaign, the first of which was presented at County Council on Wednesday.

"There were slogans which happened in the First World War mainly with recruitment posters in trying to get the men to sign up. One of the earliest ones was a picture with a soldier saying "I'm doing my bit" -- encouraging his buddies meaning he's already signed up, they'd better sign sign up too."

A commemorative button was created showing the same slogan, "I'm Doing My Bit." Phelps hopes the slogan adorning buttons will encourage conversation about The Great War.

Events will be hosted in five areas of the County. The areas that will participate reflect the 4 Companies of the 168th Battalion -- Oxford's Own, which was formed during the First World War. The four Companies include Company A -- Woodstock, Company B -- Ingersoll, Company C -- Tillsonburg, and Company D -- Tavistock, along with Norwich which was also added to reflect the unique Quaker history of the area and the story of the conscientious objector.

A mixture of twenty commemorative events and programs will occur within the County each year, between June 28, 2014 and November 11, 2018, resulting in 100 commemorative events and/or programs during the time period, something Phelps says will mirror the length of the Great War.

"We want the events to happen throughout the county. We're hoping county citizens will travel to these events. Those let's say who live in Tavistock will come to a place like Tillsonburg, and those in Tillsonburg would travel to Tavistock. By working together, were making sure we're not conflicting our dates or overlapping our dates."

Events and programs will be organized and implemented by staff and volunteers of the Museums, Archives, Libraries and Historical Societies along with any and all interested partners.

Phelps says the folks at Oxford Creative Connections have designed a web site which outlines every event remembering the 100th anniversary of WWI.

"On that web site there are links to all of the partner sites that are involved. There's also a listing for all the events in 2014 that we have that are all ready to go as well as photographs from collections from the area of Oxford's soldiers at war and at the home front."

Phelps hopes the project will raise awareness of the past achievements and sacrifices made by Oxford's citizens on both the home front and the war front.

She says they're always looking for more stories and photos to share on the site.

You can help add photos, letters, stories and other First World War content by contacting your local museum.

You can find out more at: www.oxfordremembers.ca