About the exhibition
Just after New Year, the team all travelled down with their work clothes and brushes and began painting the boards against which the pull-up banners and posters sat. By the end of the day, with help from Curator and Volunteer Co-ordinator Abi Cornick and her excellent colleagues, we had put up the entire exhibition, including a display cabinet and interactive activities.
Led by
Dr Rebecca Wynter (University of Birmingham), the exhibition was developed with input from
Professor Jonathan Reinarz (University of Birmingham),
Professor Shane Ewen, and Dr Aaron Andrews (both Leeds Beckett University); Dr Rosemary Wall (then University of Hull), from the AHRC-funded ‘Crossing Boundaries: The History of First Aid in Britain and France, 1909-1989’, also contributed expertise on Blitz medicine. The designer for the exhibition was Katerina Portik, with whom Dr Wynter had worked previously.
The exhibition was accompanied by a programme of events. There were three public evening presentations, and four lunchtime talks, as well as schools work and a witness seminar. The Museum was delighted with the impact the exhibition made, as they saw a rise on previous years in January visitor numbers.
Our intention was also to exhibit in Birmingham, Glasgow and Swansea. With nationwide restrictions and the timing of the end of the Forged by Fire project in July 2021, that proved impossible, though there are plans afoot for the exhibition to feature in the new, purpose-built premises of the Museum of Fire in Edinburgh.
For certainty and for your interest, here is our exhibition—free, online, and for everyone.