Rowbot Street CIC is a community media organisation that works in socially disadvantaged areas, with young people and the wider community. Rowbot Street worked in partnership with The Queen’s Lancashire Regiment Museum to deliver the project.

Over six months, 15 young people, with a range of abilities and backgrounds, researched the history of the Accrington Pals and the experiences of young soldiers and their families. They developed research skills by identifying themes that interested them and carrying out research at the Imperial War Museum, the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment Museum and the Portland Basin Museum. They explored the history of Accrington using old photographs to link the past and the present, and they also researched other areas of interest such as dress and hairstyles.

The young people developed their own short film about the Accrington Pals, working with a professional scriptwriter and set designer and shared it with families, friends and partner organisations at a screening event. The young people also helped students at 10 secondary schools get involved by delivering workshops to enable them to research and create their own short films on the First World War.

The Rowbot Street website contains the latest updates on the production process.