Belgium WW1 Trip

This fantastic project enabled young people within the Asian heritage community to research their family’s connections to WW1, and also the community connections to WW1 within Brierfield & Nelson, Lancashire.

We found that local young people with Asian heritage did not have much concept of the sacrifice and bravery that their ancestors contributed to WW1 and had little respect for the Cenotaphs and the importance of remembering them. They also didn’t fully understand the historical significance and how that has enabled their families to live their lives in the Western World.

The project involved researching and collecting personal stories linked to our towns, learning about the impact the war had on local Asian culture, families and community. We researched specific names on our Cenotaph as well as the young people’s own family connections. We held community events in various venues to collect stories, memories and photos.

The highlight of the project was being able to take the young people to Belgium to see the war memorials & graves to help them understand the scale and impact of the war, and the importance of their ancestors’ contribution to the British Empire war effort. Throughout the project we worked alongside the Royal British Legion, Marsden Heights Community College & the communities of Brierfield & Nelson. We brought everything together in a celebration event at the end of the project.