2018 marks 100 years since the end of the First World War. To commemorate the centenary, Royal Cornwall Museum and Courtney Library staff, interns and volunteers have teamed up to create the online exhibition ‘Behind the Lines: Personal Stories of the First World War’.
A number of items in the RIC’s collections communicate individual tales from the time of the First World War. The Journal of the RIC tells of the Institution’s perseverance through hardship and loss, autograph albums from the Royal Cornwall Infirmary reveal the thoughts and feelings of convalescing soldiers, photographs of Tregavethan Farm recount the Martin family’s period as Women’s Land Army instructors, and the diaries of Miss Elsie Mona Haslam of Weeks St. Mary provide a vital commentary showcasing how the First World War filtered into the everyday lives of Cornish people.
Alongside these pieces are objects specially selected by our volunteer Citizen Curators, who have personally researched their history and significance. They include items as diverse as a fragment from a German shell and a Princess Mary Christmas gift box.
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