Many family historians, and certainly those interested in the military and societal history of the First World War, would benefit from membership of a club or association dedicated to the subject. Some of these are long-established, but with a relatively new and growing entrant on the scene, I thought it may be helpful to provide some comparative information about them.
Disclaimer! Readers will judge for themselves whether they like the content, opportunities and ethos of each organisation and I suggest they begin by examining the websites and social media content of those that may interest them. I am currently a paid-up member of the Salonika Campaign Society and have been such a member of The Western Front Association in the past. The Great War Group have given me free membership since they got going, in return for me writing some articles for their journal. I have never been a member of the Gallipoli Association.
The general outlook of these groups is much the same, in that they all profess to be about encouraging interest in the subject, being dedicated to its memory and providing a means of educating people about it.
What do they offer?
Let us look at the two generalist groups.
| The Western Front Association | The Great War Group |
|---|---|
| Established in 1980, WFA is constituted as a Registered Charity. As such, its accounts and governance are publicly accessible. | Constituted in 2020 as a Foundation Charitable Incorporated Organisation, GWGs accounts and governance are publicly accessible. |
| Charity Commission data on WFA | Charity Commission data on GWG |
| WFA says it has around 6000 members. | GWG says it has 675 members at time of writing (8.2.23) |
| Members receive four issues of a historical journal named “Stand To!” each year, along with the Association’s newsletter “Bulletin” three times per year. They are also kept informed by email newsletters and the Association’s website and social media. | Members receive four issues of a historical journal named “Salient Points” each year. They are also kept informed by email newsletters and the Group’s website and social media. |
| Members can attend the Association’s Annual General Meeting and vote on election of officers and other matters of governance. | Members do not get a vote on GWG affairs. |
| Members can also attend any of the Association’s large network of local branches, which typically meet monthly and hold talks, battlefield trips and other events of interest. Non-members can usually also attend, but do not have voting rights at branch AGMs which elect the branch’s organising committee. | GWG does not at present have a comparable local branch structure, but there is a growing tendency to ad-hoc physical gatherings of members. |
| The Association makes available to its members its online collection of army pension records*, back issues of its own and various other publications, and trench maps. *These are the same records available to Ancestry users with access to Fold3. | GWG makes available to its members online access to digital versions* of various official histories and memoirs. *Some of these are freely available elsewhere on the internet, but not always easily found. |
| The Association organises its own battlefield tours (in partnership, at present, with Battle Honours Tours) and various conferences and seminars. These are not covered by membership fees. | The Group organises its own battlefield tours and various conferences and seminars. It also offers educational courses. These are in the main not covered by membership fees, but some online talks are free to members. |
| The Association was originally formed to focus on the war in France and Flanders, but has broadened out of the years to cover all of the conflict. | The Group has from the outset aimed at covering all of the conflict. |
| The Association has an online shop selling its own branded apparel and various other goods. | The Group has an online shop selling its own branded apparel and various other goods. |
| Membership for a UK-resident person at time of writing (8.8.23) is £29 per year. There are different fees for overseas, junior (under 18) and digital-only members. It is also possible for more than one person at a given address to register for dual membership. | From 7 September 2023, membership for a UK-resident person at time of writing will be £48 per year. There are different fees for overseas, junior (under 18) and family memberships. A digital-only membership is planned. |
| The Western Front Association | The Great War Group |
| As part of its social media presence, WFA has a Youtube Channel with a wide range of free-to-view talks. |
Now let us look at two specific campaign interest groups:
| The Gallipoli Association | Salonika Campaign Society |
|---|---|
| Established in 1969, the GA is constituted as a Registered Charity. As such, its accounts and governance are publicly accessible. It focuses solely on the Gallipoli campaign in 1915-16. | Established in 2000, the SCS is not constituted as a Registered Charity or Limited Company. As such, its accounts and governance are not publicly accessible. It focuses solely on the Salonika campaign in 1915-18. |
| Charity Commission data on GA | |
| Association says it has over 1000 members. It does not have a local branch structure. | I am awaiting this information. A few hundred is my estimate. |
| Members receive three issues of a historical journal named “The Gallipolean” each year. They are also kept informed by email newsletters and the Association’s website and social media. Members can access online back issues of the journal. | Members receive two issues of a historical journal named “The New Mosquito” each year. They are also kept informed by email newsletters named “The New Balkan News” and the Society’s website and social media. Members can access online back issues of the journal. |
| Members can attend the Association’s Annual General Meeting and vote on election of officers and other matters of governance. | Members can attend the Society’s Annual General Meeting and vote on election of officers and other matters of governance. |
| The Association organises its own battlefield tours and various conferences and seminars. These are not covered by membership fees. | The Society organises its own battlefield tours and various conferences and seminars. These are not covered by membership fees. |
| The Association has an online shop selling its own limited range of branded apparel and various other goods. | The Society has no online shop, but it does sell a relevant map collection to members. |
| Membership for a UK-resident person at time of writing (8.8.23) is £25 per year. There are different fees for digital-only, school and organisational members. | Membership for a UK-resident person at time of writing (8.8.23) is £10 per year. There are different fees for overseas members. |
| Gallipoli Association | Salonika Campaign Society |
And finally one which is a different concept:
| Great War Forum | |
|---|---|
| This is an online-only group, originally established in 1996 but moved to a different platform in 2002, when membership count began. It is constituted as a Limited Company. Forum members discuss all aspects of the conflict. | |
| Companies House data on GWF | |
| Well over 30,000 members have registered to use the discussion forum, but only a small portion of them are active at any one time. | |
| Most of the GWF’s activities revolve around its core online discussion forum, but it organises conferences and seminars, and has at times organised battlefield tours. | |
| Members do not get a vote on GWF affairs. | |
| There is no fee to join the forum, but donations are welcome to cover its operating costs. | |
| GWF generally does not operate a shop but it has at times sold badges and apparel. | |
| Great War Forum |
How can these organisations help you?
If you are a family historian and pursuing the stories of only one or a small number of soldiers, and without having a desire to learn more about the wider context, then you will probably wish to first look at the Great War Forum and the Western Front Association. The first is free; you can ask questions and will be sure to get good, accurate answers and guidance from knowledgeable members. It does not have any records for you to look at, but it can help you find them (indeed, many of its members are quick to jump in and do that for you) and interpret them. The Western Front Association will be of interest to you mainly for its collection of pension records, but if you are an Ancestry subscriber that can access the military records then you can already see them without needing an additional membership.
For wider context and education in the conflict, consider both the Western Front Association and Great War Group. They have differing styles and you will soon find one that fits, although you will also notice a considerable difference in the cost of membership. They both provide good reading material, and if you are the type that would find attendance at a talk or conference to be of interest (and there is certainly a social aspect to that in terms of meeting like-minded people), then they both offer an attractive programme of events. If you are a UK resident, the WFA’s branch network provides the means of attending such events close to home.
The Gallipoli Association and Salonika Campaign Society are both excellent organisations and sources of information and learning, but obviously with specific focus.