Climbing the stairs of the Castle before the main exhibition begins and the walls are heavy with facts, figures and personal accounts of the weighty reality of war. Already there is the screaming of shells and hammering of bullets overhead as men crawl through mud, death and terror. The gulf of unreality, between the life they left and their lives now, is much in evidence. And a surreal quality runs through some of these men’s accounts; the disbelief of what is to come, the constant realisation of what war is about as it unfolds before them.
Yet the Trent to Trenches story for Nottingham begins as the Great War approaches and tensions rise. Nottingham commerce is booming, with Boots, Players and Raleigh expanding as transport links and communications improve across the country. This is a great time for the city and as war breaks out enlistment posters appear and men across the county rush to enlist. Some are just fifteen and are only half accepted for Naval service; yet the posters demand that ‘England Expects.’
The figures show that by August 1914 all local regiments across Nottinghamshire were preparing to mobilise and by the September 5000 local men had joined the regular army. Nottingham’s men surged to support the war effort.
The diary and letters of one of them, Arthur Mather, from Basford, offer a moving, honest and upbeat personal account of his experiences of the journey to, and retreat at Mons, the first encounter between British and German forces on the Western Front. A matter-of-fact but cheery letter to his wife was followed by a final letter home to his mother with news of his fate. His name appears at a memorial on the Marne, along with the names of over 3,700 British soldiers who died in the area and have no known grave.
In contrast, Lenton-born Albert Ball, named the “most famous British fighter pilot of the Great War”, yet also dubbed the “forgotten hero”, was celebrated for his natural and technical talent in the air. Precise and merciless in his fighting ability, he was awarded the Military Cross, and posthumously the Victoria Cross, amongst other honours. He died in battle at the age of 20.
As the exhibition continues visitors learn that by January 1915 over 12,000 Nottinghamshire employees had enlisted in the New Army. As the war effort increased, however, more casualties are reported and by November 1915 Nottinghamshire men were leaving jobs to become miners or work in munitions to avoid enlistment. Eventually, conscientious objectors were given military escort to enlist or prosecuted and fined.
The impact on family life was transformative as women rallied around, taking over the jobs that had traditionally been done by the now enlisted men. Nottingham even saw its first female tram driver. This part of the exhibition reveals a real celebration of the women of Nottingham and the massive contribution they made during the conflict.
Towards the end of the exhibition, the battle casualty statistics make for sobering reading, particularly from the Somme, Third Battle of Ypres and the Kaiserschlacht (the German Spring Offensive) of 1918. A map of war casualties around Nottinghamshire highlight the huge sacrifice made by local people, leaving visitors with mixed feelings of pride, awe and sadness.
As Remembrance Sunday and the one hundred year anniversary of The Great War approaches, the Trent to Trenches exhibition provides visitors with fascinating and moving accounts of the experience and reality of the Great War. Let us remember the sacrifice made by those men and women who came from our great city.
The exhibition can be seen until 16 November. http://www.trent-to-trenches.co.uk/
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
