Inside cover of Norman Sutton’s scrap book CC BY-SA © Liz Beith

On the inside of his scrapbook, Norman Sutton writes: “Pleasant Reminiscences of College and ‘Varsity Days 1913-1914, 1919-1920”.

One page in the album has “The Isis” written across at the top and pasted on the page are a set of charts of the Eights (lists of the boats that took part in the annual intercollegiate rowing regatta). There are three charts for the summer races, one for each of Sutton’s undergraduate years: 1914, 1919, 1920.

Page from Norman Sutton’s scrapbook CC BY-SA © Liz Beith

The dates offer an indication of something that was typical for the time. Like many other young men and women, Norman Sutton left Oxford to serve in the War. He was fortunate to survive and returned to complete his studies. We can get glimpses of his Oxford days through his scrapbook and guess what life was like in Oxford at the time, both before and after the War.  What we cannot see here, however, is what life was like in Oxford while he was away. What happened here during the War?

Oxford at War is a project set up to fill in the gaps left by resources like Norman Sotton’s album and make it easier to find out about Oxford during the First World War. The project collects and makes available information and material that relate to Oxford, the city, the University, and the people, during the War. It uses a model developed in previous projects where anyone who has stories, pictures, letters, or other material is invited to share it through a dedicated platform. The Oxford at War platform (http://oxfordatwar.uk) allows users to type in or upload text, add digital pictures, audio and video, or simply link to material they already have online. Material can then be explored by anyone who visits the site http://oxfordatwar.uk.

The Oxford at War project also runs and takes part in events and activities to collect and disseminate information about Oxford during the War, such as the Remembering the Great War collection and digitisation event at the Museum of History of Science (26 September 2015) and the Wikipedia World War 1 edit-a-thon (10 November 2015). The project is part of the University’s First World War Centenary commemorations and activities, supported by the Van Houten Bequest. More information about related resources and activities can be found through the University WW1 Centenary page http://www.ox.ac.uk/world-war-1.

If you have something to share but are unsure how to add it to the Oxford at War platform, need help with creating digital copies of your material, want to know about future events and activities or want more information about any aspect of the project or the platform, please contact the Oxford at War team at ww1collections@it.ox.ac.uk.

The poetry of World War One has been some of the most important and influential work of the twentieth century. It has shaped our attitudes to war, and has remained ingrained in British cultural consciousness. In this audio collection world-leading experts revisit this important body of work to provide deeper insights into some of the most read British soldier poets, as well as providing new perspectives and introductions to a more expansive canon including Irish works, the poetry of the Empire and women poets.

Produced as part of the Faculty of English Spring School (3-5 April 2014), the series is the first of its kind covering the topic of World War One poetry. It is  available under a Creative Commons license for free download and reuse from iTunes U and the Oxford Podcasts web site.

“A student’s room in Keble College, Oxford. The student is one of 18 at present in residence and has received his discharge from the Army (owing to health), after a period of fighting in Egypt and France – his discharge is to be seen hanging over the mantle-shelf where he is standing.” Image available under the IWM Non Commercial Licence, © IWM (Q 30292).

A short podcast from the BBC Oxford World War One at Home Series: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01s4zr3.

First World War: New Perspectives is a podcast series hosted by the University of Oxford that presents contemporary research on the historical conflict. Launched in mid-November, the podcast series has already seen 60,000 downloads. All talks are licensed under a Creative Commons allowing global resuse for non-commercial purposes.

Titles include:

• The Indian Sepoy in the First World War
• The Historian and the Centenary
• Popular Fiction
• Morality in Wartime Britain
• Wartime Art and Grief

You can subscribe to the series and download the talks by visiting Oxford’s Podcast Website or Oxford on iTunes U. The series was developed by the First World War Centenary: Continuations and Beginning s project run by IT Services and will continue to add talks in the lead up to and over the Centenary. If you would like to contribute, please contact ww1centenary@oucs.ox.ac.uk.