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From family quiz to global quiz

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Edited by Jonathan Vernon, Thursday, 19 Nov 2020, 08:01

School Quiz

During the first lockdown the family quiz became the thing. Six location, six family hubs, my sister with her hubby, my wife and I, her kids from California and Newcastle, my own kids from London, and nephew also from London.

Eight months on and at the same time, on the same night I've got two organisations pushing a global quiz, the above from my old school (I attended unwillingly for three years and go out after O' Levels) while the Western Front Association has gone from branch, to national to an international Zoom offering too. Here we have tested the water with webinars first too New Zealand and Australia, and most recently from New Zealand and coming soon from Canada.

What has the world come to? Not so much the Global Village, as the Global Sofa - or wherever the shared space might be. 

I'm attending a face to face PGCE class so won't be able to to this. Had I been at home I may well have had to screens open and followed the class while answering the quiz - like a simultaneous exhibition of chess.

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Design Museum

The joys of research

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Buried in Ancestry and the British Newspaper Archive for several days I am finally venturing out to a library because the photographs in the 1916 newspaper article I am interested in are too black to view. The text is fine.

The Keep

My interest, for The Western Front Association, is on the 19 year old Pte William Gallard who died 27 January 1916. This is him posing for a studio photograph in Eastbourne with his father (sitting). 


William and Edward Gallard

William and Edward Gallard, son and father, 1915 before they went to war, William to the Western Front, his father to India.

Details HERE >  http://bit.ly/2FpaX9H

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The Western Front Association

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Event details HERE >>  http://bit.ly/2kbrXZX 

I've been the digital editor for the Western Front Association for 4 1/2 years. Here is the kind of thing I do, promoting a local branch event. This one is in Warwick tonight. There are 54 UK branches, another 2 in Ireland and a handful in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium and France. 

During this time I took an MA in British History and the First World War. I had thought about taking the OU MA in History which covered 1845 to 1945 or thereabouts but considered it too broad for my needs and interests. I wonder now if I should look again? However, three jobs, 53 working working hours, additional volunteer hours for Lewes Town Council and Lewes District Green party - as well as sailing and sailing duties, let alone 12 hours a week commuting leaves me without the time. I do think that in the the past these degrees have served the purpose of filling gaps in my day and week which are now well and truly covered!

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The First World War

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My interest has paid off. I became the Digital Editor for all online content for the Western Front Association last week. The work's cut out for me. There are over 4,000 pages to refresh and bring up to current search engine optimization criteria. Other than that I can indulge my interest in everything to do with the First World War.

It may also bring me to the OU to complete an MA in History: I have 60 credits and guess I need another 60 or so.

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