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Wartime Christmas Memories: Spreading Festive Cheer - An Intergenerational Project
The Northern Ireland War Memorial (NIWM) has over a number of years been running an oral history project seeking to capture and preserve memories relating to the Second World War in Northern Ireland. In 2025, thirty-eight individuals across Northern Ireland shared their memories with the War & Me project; from rationing, and the Belfast Blitz to the American presence in Northern Ireland. The museum uses these oral histories within outreach and learning programmes, with over 3,000 schoolchildren visiting the museum to learn about the Second World War and a further 2,000 benefitting from outreach to their school. The children love to hear the voices of those who remember the war, as NIWM Education Officer, Dr Rebecca Watterson says, “Hearing oral histories from people who lived through the Second World War enriches pupils’ learning by making history feel more real, helping them to build empathy and making their study of Christmas in wartime more memorable and meaningful”.
To say thank you to our interviewees for sharing their memories we wanted to send a Christmas card, just to let them know we were thinking of them at this time of year. Who better to help the museum in this project than some of the primary school students who listened to these memories when studying the Second World War in Northern Ireland? Inspired by the wartime memories shared with NIWM this year, the Primary 4 classes of Maghaberry Primary School, Moira and Derrychrin Primary School, Cookstown drew wonderful cards. Fianna from Derrychrin drew Brian’s memory of a special VE Day Football Match, while Myles from Maghaberry drew Neil’s memory of his father smuggling chocolate on the train from Dublin, writing “I loved listening to your memories and don’t forget you are special”.
NIWM Research Officer, Michael Burns, looks after the Oral History Collection and stressed the importance of reaching out to our older relations, neighbours and friends at Christmas. “Many of the people I interview are still living independently in their late 80s and 90s. Usually intergenerational projects focus on older people who live in sheltered dwellings or care homes. We felt it’s important we don’t forget those older people already at risk of social isolation or loneliness; although it’s a simple Christmas card, it can have a huge impact to someone just to let them know that they’re in someone’s thoughts”.
Don Bigger, Chairman of NIWM, commented: “At NIWM we believe in bringing different generations together to learn about the impact of the Second World War on Northern Ireland. This very worthwhile project has meant that schoolchildren have been able to engage with the many stories recorded as part of the museum’s oral history collection. The simple gift of a Christmas card from each of these children to the older people who have shared their wartime memories will be all the more meaningful and appreciated at this time of year.”
