Pershore Heritage and History Society were inspired by an event hosted by the First World War Engagement Centre: Voices of War and Peace at the University of Worcester, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. They joined other groups, including the Pershore branch of the Women’s institute to develop their project.

Teaming up with university students and professional historians Maggie Andrews and Jenni Waugh, they set out to research how schoolchildren, prisoners of war, Belgian refugees and Boy Scouts all had a part to play in preventing the nation from starving in wartime. They discovered how these groups helped with the war effort by picking plums, looking after chickens and digging potatoes.

This research has been used in a new book and the partners continue to share their methods and findings at events to inspire others, some of which have been filmed and shared online. They also plan to be involved in the Engagement Centre’s follow-on-project, Volunteers and Voters.