In 2018 communities from all over the UK marked the centenary of the end of the first world war in November 1918. In January 2018, I worked with an enthusiastic committee in Malpas, Cheshire who had ambitious plans for a full weekend of events to commemorate their history.
The objective of “Malpas 100 Years On” three-day event was to put the village on the map as being an active community joining in national events. The aim for the village was to remember those from the area who fought in the first world and to commemorate those who lost their lives. It was fundamental that the event was educational and enjoyable. The committee succeeded in generating overwhelming support from local community groups and were keen to embrace and celebrate the interest and excitement of those volunteering. In my role as public communication support for the committee, I adopted a story approach to share news of the build-up to the event and to encourage local and regional participation.
A nine-month community engagement campaign was undertaken using press stories with photography of the participants with a war-themed focus. Stories included Malpas ladies knitting hundreds of poppies to display in the church, the local flower club dressing up as first world war nurses for the parade. Stories of reflection and pride as families loaned medals and war artefacts to display and huge learning from schools who visited the spectacular showcase. War time was re-enacted in a parade, games on the playing field and in drama performances. Stories were themed to shine a light on participants and learning which gained extensive coverage in regular local and regional press published during the lead up and at the event.
The story approach campaign contributed to top records of local as well as far-reaching event attendance including support from the presiding Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire. Children’s activities were oversubscribed for the weekend events and there was an off-the-scale turnout for the local church flower festival and choral events. Tickets for all drama performances featuring residents sold-out. In the weeks following the three-day event, the committee received endless positive feedback for a very successful event with great community spirit.
As part of the celebration and thanks to contributors of the event, I worked with a video editor on the story of the event. Film copies were sold in DVD format for keepsakes in aid of local community charity funds. In the video The visiting Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire commended the success of event.
Featured Image Attribution: By Mcginnly at English Wikipedia Russ McGinn – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Common Good using CommonsHelper., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16483597