Women’s Health in South Tyneside (WHiST) are a voluntary organisation whose main aim is to improve the health, wellbeing and education of women living in South Tyneside.

WHiST supported over 20 volunteers to explore the role women from South Tyneside played in the First World War. With guidance from the Workers Education Association and Durham Records Office, volunteers undertook research visits at the National Archives, the Women’s Library at LSE and York Museum. Through these visits they were able to learn about Ethel Williams, suffragist and first female GP for Newcastle and Hilda Trevena, who became District Secretary of the Workers Education Association after her husband was jailed as a conscientious objector. Volunteers also visited local care homes with memory boxes and local photographs to share wartime memories with the residents.

Dr Tracy Gillman, Creative Art Practioner, provided the volunteers with training and support to develop information, poetry and an audio play, from which a soundtrack was recorded at Washington Arts Centre for an interactive exhibition inspired by their research. The exhibition was held for four weeks in Autumn 2016 and the project blog shows the journey of their discoveries.

Olwyn, a project volunteer, said: “I am proud of the amount of interesting information and facts that we have managed to unearth as a group. It has been a joy to work with everyone on this project and I definitely think we have bonded together, just like the women of the First World War.”