’Our Story’ was an exhibition created as part of the HLF-funded Rifles & Spades project. It ran in Leominster Library from 3rd October to 29th November 2014 and toured three villages, Grange Court, and Earl Mortimer College over the following winter.  It examined the life stories of some of the young  men who left the Leominster area to fight, and what happened to the young men living in the town who chose to become conscientious objectors.It also looked at how the War affected the life of those left behind in the town, and those who survived but returned with serious injuries.

Over 2000 people viewed the exhibition in its different venues, and it was used by many of the students at Earl Mortimer College as part of their studies.

In March and April 2018, at the request of Hereford Cathedral, the Our Story exhibition was shown in the Cathedral to coincide with their Weeping Window project commemorating the end of the First World War (based on the cascade of poppies from a window that originated at the Tower of London).  Later that year it was also mounted in the Stable Gallery at the rear of the Town Council offices in Leominster.

The exhibition covered six themes:

• Why Rifles and Spades?
• From Leominster to the World
• The Men who said No
• At Home in the Town
• Crisis in Agriculture
• A Land Fit for Heroes

ECHO Group Visit the Exhibition

On 22nd October 2014, a group from ECHO visited the Rifles and Spades exhibition in the Library, and thoroughly enjoyed looking at all the objects and photographs. The following week, a handling session was organised for them, where they passed round medals and other items and browsed the pages on this website!

The Exhibition on Display in Pembridge parish church

Comments on the exhibition included the following:

• It is a really well thought out exhibition. Good mix of info and images.
• Congratulations! An inspiring and moving exhibition. Wonderful to hear of the local involvement.
• A wonderful exhibition. We loved the history told in embroidery. So fascinating.
• I was really interested by the amount of people that came from our area.
• It was interesting to see the photos and how young the boys were also how close the school was to ours.
• Overall, I have enjoyed learning about Leominster’s history. It has surprised me a lot.
• Thank you for putting this exhibition together. It conveys a very good impression of many aspects of the First World War.
  

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