Pupils pay tribute to locals who fought in Great War

AHEAD of the centenary of the end of the First World War, children from a Cardiff primary school have been working with older members of the community and Cardiff Libraries Service to explore and commemorate people from their area who fought for their country from 1914-18.

Pupils from St Monica’s Church in Wales Primary School, in Cathays, have worked with Pentyrch Street Baptist Church’s cafe The Table, and Cathays Branch and Heritage Library to trace the history of individuals whose names are listed on a memorial plaque in the church.

The intergenerational project – entitled Greater Love: Research, Reflect, Remember – has involved Year Five pupils embarking on their own mini “Who do you think you are?” investigations using the Heritage Library collection at Cathays to find out about the lives of those featured on the plaque.

With access to resources ranging from old public records to photographs and maps, and the expertise available at the Heritage Library, the pupils managed to uncover information including family trees, addresses and jobs to compile biographies of their subjects.

They also composed their own poems about the Great War and designed medals.

Older members of the community shared their memories of the local area with the children and told them their experiences of what it was like to live in the city after the end of the Second World War.

An exhibition of work done during the project will be on show at Cathays Library until November 17.

Abi Beacon, headteacher of St Monica’s Church in Wales Primary School, said: “The children have gained such a lot from the project.

“Many of our children live far away from their own families and intergenerational conversations can be few and far between.

“They have made genuine friendships with seniors in our community – faces light up when they see each other and there is a palpable air of anticipation and excitement when they know they will be working together again.

“Working with Katherine in the library has been inspirational for the children – they have seen how the careful custodianship of artefacts means we can get clues about our past.

“It is exciting to think we will be making artefacts others might use in the future.”