First World War stories from the Wakefield District

This resource explores the stories of five local men who fought in World War One. Working alongside KS3 teachers we have created a history resource to look at local memories of conflict. By encouraging students to compare and contrast the lives of different soldiers we hope young people will gain insights into the impact of 'total war' on their local community. 

• What can you learn about Stanley Sadler of Wakefield who died in France just four weeks before the ceasefire?
• What kind of war did Joshua Empson of Castleford have serving in Salonica, Egypt, Palestine and France?
• Read about ordinary families like Mrs England who received a telegram telling her that her son Richard was seriously injured.  

These unique stories were collected from local people and family historians by Wakefield Libraries as part of the ‘We Will Remember Them’ project which was funded by the Big Lottery via the MLA’s ‘Their Past Our Future’ (TPYF2) programme.

The stories and worksheets can be used both in group work and whole class teaching, while the accompanying Resource Guide lists sources available in Wakefield Libraries (see Downloads links below).

Curriculum Links:

History KS3 - Unit 18 ‘Hot War’: ‘Cold War’

Section 5 What do local people remember about the main conflicts

Learning Objectives:

By increasing access to our archive this resource aspires to encourage students to:

• gain skills of gathering and interpreting historical evidence from primary and secondary sources.
• gain a deepening understanding of what it meant for local people to live through ’total war’.
• be inspired to find out more about the experiences of local soldiers and families at war by using the research guide, the links page and/or visiting a library
• empathise with the misfortunes of others and to value and respect the service of the soldiers.