On March 3rd the First World War Poetry Digital Archive launched "The Great War Archive". The aim of this site is to collect together digital surrogates of material related to the First World War held by members of the public. The image above is one of many images from a sketch book belonging to Percy Matthews. Matthews trained at the Ramsgate School of Art and during World War I he served on the Western Front as a Private in the Kentish Buffs, and later in Salonika as a Lieutenant in the Middlesex Regiment. It was in Salonika that he produced his remarkable sketches of scenes and characters from military and civilian life. These images were submitted to the GWA by Elizabeth Masterman on behalf of Peter, his son. These sketches have now been donated to the Imperial War Museum in 2007, where they are currently undergoing conservation.
To find out more visit: www.thegreatwararchive.org
