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Volunteers Celebration

25.09.18

A large number of volunteers came together at The National Library of Wales on September 19th to celebrate the completion of the first Library crowdsourcing project.

Over 200 online volunteers supported the Library to unlock the hidden history of the Great War by transcribing and indexing the Cardiganshire First World War Tribunal (Appeals) Records, which were the tribunals that dealt with appeals against enforcement to go to the war (for personal, economic, moral or religious reasons). In 1921, the Government ordered that the tribunal records be destroyed; however, Cardigan County records survived. The archive is now a truly unique one in Wales, and one of its kind that exists in the United Kingdom.

During the celebration there were two presentations - one by Rob Phillips, Head of Archives and Manuscripts, tracing the history of the Appeal Tribunals, and the other by Dr. Dafydd Tudur, Head of Digital Access, on how the transcripts will be a searchable resource on the NLW website for researchers, family historians and anyone who is interested in the heritage of the Great War.

The project received financial funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund; this enabled staff and some of the Library's volunteers to visit associations in Ceredigion to share the history of the records and to offer training on how to use the online resource. There was also an opportunity to record local stories about the Great War.

The website is a long-term resource to present collections and various tasks for the public. If you have access to the web, a little free time, and the desire to support the Library by enriching some of the national collections, go to:

Torf website

Further Information

Elin-Hâf 01970 632534 or post@llgc.org.uk