Masterclass: How to Research the Story of a WW1 Soldier

Join St Paul’s School former Head of Faculty, Humanities, Graham Seel, as he delivers a series of workshops on how to research the story of a 1st World War soldier.

This series of Masterclasses will equip participants with the essential research processes required to unearth the story of a soldier who fell (or served and survived) in the 1st World War. The classes will thus be of particular interest to those undertaking family research. Equally, the stories of many of the 509 OPs who fell in the War remain as yet untold – as such, attendees of this class may choose to undertake research into the story of a forgotten OP who fell in the War and in this way make an important contribution to St Paul’s School Archives.

Please note, these Masterclasses are for parents and alumni, not for current pupils. 

This masterclass run for 3 weeks on the below dates and cover the following topics:

• Monday 1 November – Numbers and names: making sense of military units and how to locate a soldier’s place in the army
• Monday 8 November – In the trenches: how to locate and use the unit war diaries to reveal the experiences of a soldier
• Monday 15 November – The landscape of war: how to use disposition maps, trench maps and Google Earth to reveal where a soldier fought and fell; how to ‘read’ a 1st World War cemetery.

Zoom log in details will be sent to participants closer to the event.

Spaces are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment.

About our Masterclass Series

Our Masterclasses are run by members of our remarkable teaching staff here at St Paul’s, who have volunteered their time to share their knowledge and expertise with the School’s community, allowing parents and Old Paulines insight into today’s teachings, whilst engaging with new and exciting subjects.

If you would like to show your appreciation for our free Masterclasses and the efforts and expertise of our teachers, you can do so by supporting our Shaping our Future bursary appeal. We are proud to be working to provide the very best in education and, amid the anxiety created by the pandemic, one positive conclusion is clear: education matters more than ever. If you are able to, please support our bursary and partnerships work so we can expand our impact on our local and wider community by making a donation or by joining our giving group, the 1509 Society, and setting up a regular gift from £1.59 a month, here.

Suggested donation for the Masterclass series – £50.

Find out more about St Paul’s Talks and Masterclasses here.