Welsh Women's Peace Petition Website Help

How can I contribute to the project?

You can contribute by transcribing some of the names and addresses in the petition. For more information and to sign up visit the Peace Petition crowdsourcing website.

What does the collection include?

The Peace Petition consists of approximately 390,296 names and addresses recorded on approximately 7500-8000 petition sheets from locations all around Wales. The Petition has been arranged in 33 document boxes. While petition sheets from the same area are generally grouped together, the petition is not arranged geographically as a collection. There are sheets from different counties within the same box and there are also sets of sheets from the same area in separate boxes.

 

Is the whole collection available? 

Contents of the boxes are gradually being added to the site in line with work completed and reviewed from the crowdsourcing platform. 

 

What is the copyright status of the petition? 

Usual copyright laws apply.

 

Petition data

This is a crowdsourcing project, and the data hasn't yet been verified. Please be aware that you will find duplication. 

 

Donations

Some results will also include donations given toward the Peace Petition campaign and wider work of the Welsh League of Nations Union.

How can I search through the Petitions?

You can search the site by using the keyword search boxes on the Welsh Women's Peace Petition homepage.

Tips:

• You can use Boolean commands to narrow your search results (see below to learn more about Boolean commands)
• If you're searching for two or more specific words which appear together eg Mary Jones, remember to use "" around the terms - "Mary Jones". This will ensure you only see results containing your exact search terms
• Searching for two or more names with out "" (eg Mary Jones) with bring back results with a combination of Mary, Jones and Mary Jones, giving you a much longer search results list than needed 

What are Boolean commands?

These are commands which allow you to combine search terms to broaden or limit your search. The terms supported in this catalogue include AND, OR, NOT and NEAR.

• AND combines two or more keywords, limiting your search, for example: Peacocks AND Paradise will produce results containing both these search terms, e.g. Peacocks in Paradise.

• OR will produce results with either search term in the title, broadening your search, for example: Peacocks OR Paradise will produce results including Peacocks in Paradise and Paradise Lost.

• NOT will exclude a term from your search, making your search more specific, for example: Milton, John NOT Paradise Lost will produce a list of works by Milton not including Paradise Lost.

• NEAR will produce results where your search terms are within five words of each other, for example: History NEAR Britain will produce a list of results including Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain

Can I view a record of my previous search terms?

To see a list of your previous search terms (only on a desktop device), click on the 'Search History' link in the main menu.  

You can clear your search terms by clicking on the 'Clear Search History' link at the bottom of the list. 

How can I start a new search?

To start a new search click on the 'New Search' button in the main menu.  This will take you back to the home page where you'll find the main search and browse options. 

Why did people sign with an 'X' and how do I find them?

We are not entirely sure what the ‘x’ represents but the ‘x’ could be a way that was used to indicate illiteracy on the part of the person signing or it could have been a way in which the organisers kept track of the addresses they visited.  

When viewing search results, there is a filter along the left column titled ‘Signed with an ‘X’’ which can be toggled to view relevant results. 

Variation in spellings of personal names

When searching for a name, it’s worth trying alterations in spellings (such as Ann instead of Anne) or shorter variants of a name (such as Liz for Elizabeth) to ensure you view all relevant results.  

Address searches

You can use the ‘Search for an address’ search box to find a specific address or location. By entering a street name or location in this field you will be able to pinpoint an address you’re looking for. Bear in mind that not all addresses noted in the petition include the town detail but most addresses include a street or a village name.  

If your initial search has not been successful, it is worthwhile searching for spelling variants of an address to ensure that your search results returns a list of all the properties in the area you’ve searched for.  

Once you’ve searched for a place name it’s possible for you to filter records by modern county and community wards. Likewise, you can use the map on the homepage that includes the counties and community wards to zoom into an area that is of interest to you to narrow down your results. You can then use ‘Search within these results’ to narrow down your results even further. 

The address field could also include addresses outside Wales for women who were visiting and signed the petition. These addresses have been grouped together as ‘Outside of Wales’ in the ‘Community Ward’ and ‘County’ filter. 

 

 

What information is displayed for each result?

• Clickable link: The link will include the name and address 

• Image: This is an image of the entry in the petition 

• Information to the right of/underneath each result. This includes the: 

  • County (these are modern counties)

  • Community Ward (these are modern community wards) 

  • Box number 

  • Petition number 

  • Page number  

What are the Box number and the Petition number? 

The box and petition number represent the physical location of the item within the collection during the cataloguing process. 

How can I change the number of results displayed?

At the top of the search results (right corner on a desktop device), you'll see the 'Sorting' drop down which allows you to change the number of results displayed . 

How can I change the order in which the results are displayed?

At the top of the search results (right corner on a desktop device),  you will see the 'Sorting' drop down which allows you to change the way your results are sorted. 

How can I refine my search results?

The left column (above the results on a mobile device) contains a list of filters with which you can narrow the search results displayed. 

The filters include: 

• County (these are modern counties) 

• Community Ward (these are modern community wards) 

• Signed with an 'X' 

• Box number 

• Petition number 

• Page number 

 

Click on the relevant items within the filters to narrow your search results, they will update automatically 

You can change the filters selected as needed by clicking on them again to remove them 

You can clear all your selected filters in one go by clicking on the 'Clear Selections' button at the top of the filters list 

Tips: 

The more of the filters you can use to refine your search, the more relevant your search results will be, and therefore the easier it will be for you to find useful entries.

Can I search within my search results?

Yes. There is a search box above the filters column with the words 'Search within these results'. 

Tips: 

This search will be based on the results you already have, as a way of refining your search results. If you want to start a new search you should click on the 'New Search' button in the top menu. This will take you back to the homepage where you can use the Search function. 

Can I save my searches?

Your last 5 searches are automatically saved. These can be viewed (only on a desktop device) by clicking on the 'Search History' tab in the top menu. 

Tips: 

You can clear your searches if needed by clicking on the 'Clear Search History' link at the bottom of the list. 

Viewing signatures within a modern-day County 

The map on the homepage displays the current Welsh counties along with the number of signatures collected in each county. To explore all signatures within a specific county, simply click on that county. 

Viewing signatures within modern-day Community Wards 

As you zoom into the map, you will see detailed boundaries of all Community Wards in Wales. To view all signatures associated with a specific Community Ward, click on that ward. 

Zooming and Navigating 

•  Zoom In/Out: You can zoom in and out on the map using your mouse scroll wheel, by pinching to zoom on a mobile device, or by clicking the plus ‘+’ and minus ‘-’ buttons located on the map. 

While the majority of signatories were women from Wales, some women from outside of Wales also supported the petition. However, specific details about these women and their exact numbers are less documented compared to the overall effort led by Welsh women.  

To view these signatures you can: 

• Click on the ‘Outside of Wales’ button on the home page map 

OR 

• Within the search results, filter your location by the County and/or the Community Ward ‘Outside of Wales’ 

How can I see the petition?

To view the petition, in the results, click on the name/address or the image of the petition.

How can I view the petition as a full screen? 

Click on the link in the bottom right hand corner which says 'Full Screen' with an icon of an arrow in a box.

How can I zoom in/out of the petition? 

You can zoom in and out on the petition Viewer: 

On a desktop device: 

• Using your mouse scroll wheel 

• When hovering over an image and clicking the plus ‘+’ and minus ‘-’ icons that appear in the top left corner of the black area around the image 

On a mobile device:  

• Pinching to zoom on a mobile device. 

 

How can I rotate the petition? 

On a desktop device: Hover over the image and you will see small icons appear in the top left corner of the black area around the image. Click on the circular arrow to rotate the image (it will turn a quarter turn clockwise for every click). 

On a mobile device: Click on the circular arrow at the bottom of the Viewer to rotate the image (it will turn a quarter turn clockwise for every click). 

 

Can I move to the next/previous pages? 

Hover over the image of the petition and you will see small arrows appear to the left and right of the petition page. Click the arrow on the right to move forward through the petition and click on the left arrow to move backwards through the petition. 

On a mobile device these arrows will already be displayed on the screen. 

 

How can I see more than one page of the petition at the same time? 

On a desktop device, as you view the petition, you can choose to view one or two pages at a time. In the corner on the right hand side, under the blue strip, click on the icon of an open book - this will display two pages at a time. 

Tips: 

To revert back to displaying one page at a time, click on the icon again (it will now be an icon depicting one page) 

 

How can I view related information as I view the petition? 

Related information can be found in the 'MORE INFORMATION' panel on the right hand side of the screen on a desktop device or by clicking the ‘i’ information button at the bottom of the Viewer window on a mobile device.  

Tips: 

You can close the panel on the desktop if you wish by clicking on the two arrows in the top left corner of the panel. If you wish to view it again, click on the two arrows at the top of the closed panel. The ‘close’ button on the mobile screen will close this window. 

 

Where do I find attribution information about the petition? 

Attribution information can be found in the 'MORE INFORMATION' panel on the right hand side of a desktop screen or by clicking the ‘i’ information button at the bottom of the Viewer window on a mobile device. 

 

Is there a permanent link for the petition I'm viewing? 

Yes. You'll find the permanent url in the 'MORE INFORMATION' panel on the right hand side under the heading 'PERMALINK' or by clicking the ‘i’ information button at the bottom of the Viewer window on a mobile device. 

Tips: 

If you want to make a note of the link to one of the petitions, the best way of doing so is to use the 'PERMALINK' as the address in your browser may change over time and any links to this wouldn't work 

Downloading a petition 

Individual pages of the petition can be downloaded from the Viewer by clicking on the 'DOWNLOAD’ button in the bottom menu of the Viewer screen. 

 

How can I print copies of the petition? 

Once you have downloaded the petition page, you can then print that page on a printer of your choice.