Deborah The World War One Tank: Bringing Communities Together (FILM)

GRAHAM, Fiona (2018) Deborah The World War One Tank: Bringing Communities Together (FILM). [Video]

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Abstract or description

The aim was to contribute to the cultural enrichment of audiences and create new knowledge to help promote a wider understanding of the British and French communities involved with the preservation of a First World War tank in France.

Associate Professor Fiona Graham built new relationships with communities to develop a narrative to engage communities in Britain about the lesser known story of Deborah a Mark IV tank. Self funded and with support from Erasmus and HEIF, she gained the support of family members of the tank's British crew, General Sir Andrew Ridgway, The Royal Tank Regiment and the tank's founder Philippe Gorczynski MBE along with many other organisations in France and the UK.

The new knowledge creation uses documentary form to engage the next generation about the First World War on many varied digital platforms. It has been discussed with children in schools in France and the UK, at exhibitions at Cambrai Tank Museum, Flesquieres, France (2019) Carlisle Castle, Cumbria; public talks at Staffordshire Heritage Lottery conference; installation at The Royal Tank Regimental Museum, Dorset; discussed at AHRC Living Legacies conference at PRONI in Northern Ireland and archived at the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland and online PRONI (2020). It has shown at the Tourism Office in Cambrai, France, and on its website for the public and to encourage footfall to the Cambrai Tank Museum in Flesquieres. It was also used to support communities in France and the UK with showings during the Armistice 2018 at various public locations.

The film and the various nationwide public engagement events with Associate professor Fiona Graham have helped contribute to a cultural enrichment of new and older generations about the people past and present involved with the tank called Deborah.

Further details in 300 word statement.

Item Type:	Video
Additional Information:	300 word statement The aim was to work with communities in France and the UK to digitally capture the history of the World War One tank called "Deborah" – a National French Monument – which was discovered on the battlefields in France by historian Philippe Gorczynski MBE. The innovative approaches involving communities to lead the narrative have helped new generations understand the implications of warfare on a community in the aftermath of the Battle of Cambrai 1917. The importance of creating a narrative from those involved in the community rather than discussing the military or political objectives of the Battle of Cambrai was an innovative approach to creating new knowledge about the impact of war and how a WW1 Tank became the peace making machine bringing communities together and creating new friendships across Europe. Fiona Graham researched the impact of the story and discovery of the World War One tank on people living in Europe with historians, communities in France and the UK and the Royal Tank Regiment. She created a narrative arc that captured how the tank has brought people together from across Europe ultimately leading to the creation of a new museum in France to commemorate the story. Fiona Graham established new British and French community collaborations with the project to engage with the narrative and tell their story. She worked with communities in the UK and France, The Royal Tank Regiment and relatives of the crew of D51 tank which was destroyed in the Battle of Cambrai 1917 at Flesquieres. She had unique access to work with the French historian who discovered the nearly entire tank at Flesquieres and captured on film its move to a new museum in France to mark the centenary of the Battle of Cambrai and engage UK tourists to visit the location. Associate Professor Fiona Graham has discussed the tank and its history with children in schools in France and the UK; communities in the Midlands and North West, talks from the tanks’ location to members of the House of Lords; produced installations and public talks exhibitions at the Museum of Military Life at Carlisle Castle, Cumbria; installation for the Centenary at The Royal Tank Regimental Museum, Dorset; exhibited at AHRC Living Legacies conference at PRONI in Northern Ireland and archived at the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland. It has been donated online and to the Tourism Office in Cambrai, France for the public and to encourage footfall to the Cambrai Tank Museum. The narrative has also been broadcast internationally on British Forces Television (BFBS) and Associate Professor Fiona Graham has engaged with British Forces Radio interviews about the project. The story and image content has broadcast on ITV and BBC and on BBC News Online.
Faculty:	School of Computing and Digital Technologies > Film, Media and Journalism
Depositing User:	Fiona GRAHAM
Date Deposited:	14 Jul 2020 10:14
Last Modified:	24 Feb 2023 13:59
URI:	https://eprints.staffs.ac.uk/id/eprint/6312

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