Shetland's War 1914-1918
During the centenary commemoration of the Great War the Library supported local history publications and events to bring Shetland's war history to a wider audience.
Much of our work was done in partnership with the Shetland Museum and Archives. Our work was supported by two generous grants from the Public Library Improvement Fund which enabled us to publish some high quality local history books about Shetland's war. Free copies were distributed to the community and to libraries across the UK. They are available to borrow, or to buy for just £5. List of Library publications
Shetlland's War events and highlights
A few useful links and resources associated with our projects:
In the Still of the Night have we Wept
This highly acclaimed 2017 production by Shetland Youth Theatre featured the work of Shetland's war poet Jack Peterson. We also hosted a talk about Jack Peterson in the Library in February 2018, delivered by Dr Mark Smith from Shetland Museum and Archives.
'Private Andrew Williamson'
This film by J.J. Jamieson was screened at Jon Sandison's talk about the Battle of Ancre in November 2017, and we gave it its online premiere. Also find here a list of over 20 Shetland men who died at Ancre on 'Shetland's Darkest Day', 13 November 1916. Ancre: list of casualties [PDF].
First World War - Local history online for young people
These are materials specially created by the Library to suit different age groups.
First World War Local Bibliography
Writing about the First World War began soon after the fighting started - everything from propaganda to oral history. Originally called the Great War, its centenary is seeing a barrage of new materials to provide modern analysis and interpretations for all ages. This is a short bibliography which concentrates on materials with useful Shetland content.