THE unique Dartmoor Life in the First World War Exhibition is being displayed again from today (Thursday) to August 24 in Princetown to celebrate its prestigious award for the best exhibition in Britain and Ireland.

The trophy, presented by the Community Archive and Heritage Group, was awarded particularly for inspiring young people to recognise the importance of their cultural inheritance and innovative working together with local history groups.

The exhibition is presented by the Dartmoor Trust in partnership with Dartmoor National Park Authority and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). It opens at the National Park Visitor Centre and runs for one week.

Curated by Peter Mason, the exhibition describes through words and pictures the impact of the war on Dartmoor’s communities. It provides a unique snapshot of what life was like on Dartmoor during the First World War — how life for many continued as normal, how farming changed and women came to work on farms and in the forests. It covers the recruitment marches and the wounded soldiers who were brought to Dartmoor to recuperate as well as the impact on the area of the conscientious objectors who were housed in Dartmoor Prison. It highlights the endeavours that people made to raise funds and collect materials to support the war effort.

It draws on the collections of community archives and local history groups. It also includes material from newspapers of the day, memoirs and diaries written by people who lived in the area during the Great War. Photographs have also been lent by individuals and organisations.

An educational website www.dartmoortrust.org has been created by Bernard Whitehorn for the Dartmoor Trust, to inspire young people, to provide resources for teachers and to archive the knowledge and photographs gathered within the 20,000 image Dartmoor Trust Archive.

The displays highlight the disputes that occurred between those who put on uniform to fight for the country and the farmers who struggled to feed the nation despite German U-boats attempting to cut off the island.