Another unusual coin is this small coin stamped 50 HAPA 1915.
On the reverse is the head of Peter I, the King of Serbia, with the words ПЕТАР I. КРАЉ СРБИЈЕ
I believe the coin is silver and was issued in Serbia between 1904 and 1915 and is a 50 PARA.
I would love to believe this coin was collected by my great-uncle whilst he was serving in the Army during the First World War.
The Imperial War Museum are currently asking for help ahead of the launch of Lives of the First World War later this year. They need our help exploring a previously untapped resource which could help them to discover and remember the incredible life stories of the men and women who fought in the First World War.
Operation War Diary, a joint project between IWM and The National Archives, has made digital versions of First World War Unit War Diaries from the Western Front available for the first time. They believe that more people were mentioned by name than previously thought.
You can get involved by becoming a Citizen Historian and help classify some of the 1.5 million pages of unit war diaries which cover activity on the Western Front. There are lots of different types of pages full of fascinating details about the people involved and descriptions of their activities.
From the tags that people add they can create a detailed index to the people who appear in these pages and learn more about what they were doing. Please note they are not transcribing every word of the documents.
This is a great project and will open up lots of sources to the family historian and more importantly allow us to find new mentions of our relatives. Eventually all of the data produced by Operation War Diary will be available to everyone free of charge.
The project also has a blog which I’m sure will be revealing lots of interesting facts as they are discovered.
Next year will be a great year for family historians due to the anniversary of the First World War.
I was excited to learn about a new website – Cymru 1914 – as I have a Welsh ancestor who died during the First World War. According to the homepage:
This project has conducted mass digitization of primary sources relating to the First World War from the Libraries, Special Collections and Archives of Wales. The project will make available a coherent, consolidated digital collection revealing the often hidden history of the First World War as it impacted all aspects of Welsh life, language and culture. This digital archive brings together source materials that were previously fragmented and frequently inaccessible. This digital archive is a unique resource of vital interest to researchers, students, and the public in Wales and beyond.
I haven’t found any mention of my great uncle Alfred Mansel Young yet, but I hope to have some more time to explore the site soon.
