All about audiences

Case Study: World War II Remembered - Reaching Older Users

World War II Remembered Arthur's first IT lesson aboard the NACRO Net Navigator Bus at the RAF Museum, Cosford, July 2004. Credit: World War II Remembered Thanks to the intervention of the World War II Remembered project, 81-year-old Arthur Jones has been transformed from a shy narrator of wartime adventures into a project champion, enthusiastic Iinformation Technology (IT) student and museum education volunteer.

Arthur now has email correspondents around the world and in spring 2006, with the help of his new friends, he made the journey back to France to be reunited with the family who sheltered him in 1944.

Arthur's IT Journey: From story teller to adult learner

But back in June 2004, when Arthur Jones attended the Culture Online-funded World War II Remembered/BBC People's War IT training session at the RAF Museum, Cosford, he had never touched a computer before. The training was to equip the museum volunteers with the IT and oral history skills needed to become story collectors and to staff the BBC People's War Roadshow and its three online terminals between June and July 2004.

The other trainee story collectors were mostly aged over 55 and had limited experience of IT. They were eager to learn how to encourage museum visitors to add stories of their wartime experiences to the People's War website. Arthur however had different reasons for attending: 'I came along today to tell you about my [wartime] adventures in France. I didn't really plan to learn about this computer. But it's easier than I thought.'

'I was that upset when the big stand went and I didn't have a computer to sit at. But the museum has said that I can have a little stand of my own. I'm really excited that I can carry on with it.

Arthur's curiosity and a lifetime's work in the Black Country's engineering industries meant that he was naturally keen to find out about this new technology. Within three hours, he had mastered the basic IT skills needed to add a story to the website. He also handled the transition from the classroom PCs to the Apple Macs on the Roadshow with aplomb. 'It's like driving a car,' he said. 'Same process, just a different set of pedals.'

Cheerful champion

The aims of the BBC Roadshow were to:

collect wartime memories for the BBC People's War website;
develop IT learning for older people (aged 65 );
continue to engage with other volunteers and members of the public.

Arthur swiftly proved to be an excellent champion, taking all three aims to heart. One of the first at the museum to add his own stories to the website, he encouraged friends to contribute and staffed the Roadshow every day, supported by his fellow volunteers. Recently widowed, he said: 'Before she died, my wife kept telling me to volunteer for something. Here at the museum, I meet so many interesting people. And the other volunteers are great - it's like a family.'

Arthur rapidly became adept at demonstrating the website's many facets to young and old alike. He grew more confident at approaching strangers, although he noted: 'You know, I thought everyone would want to talk. But when I ask them to write their story, they're shy.'

Arthur is now, along with three other volunteer veterans known jointly as 'the A-team', a regular fixture on every school tour at the RAF Museum.

His sympathetic and welcoming presence overcame visitors' resistance. Many agreed either to enter their stories straight onto the website with assistance, or to write their stories for entry later on. Ignorance of IT was no excuse; Arthur added: 'If it hadn't been for People's War, I'd never have learnt how to use a computer.'

A computer of his own

'Jenni, my friend has just given me his old computer! Where can I get lessons?' Arthur's enthusiasm for IT learning increased so much that friends gave him an old PC of his own. In July 2004, he had his first computer tutorial aboard the NACRO Net Navigator Bus before attending an IT course provided by Wolverhampton Libraries.

In the meantime, although the Roadshow moved on, Arthur continued to collect stories. 'I was that upset when the big stand went and I didn't have a computer to sit at. But the museum has said that I can have a little stand of my own and they'll let me use the office computer to add stories with. I'm really excited that I can carry on with it.'

Between May 2004 and January 2006, Arthur collected more than 30 stories for the People's War website and contributed two of his own (My Mother's Love and Tank Driver in France 1944). He has learned to email and corresponds with his friends all over the world.

Learning to teach

As Arthur met more children and young people, he was surprised by their shaky knowledge of the war. On telling a seven-year old about service in North Africa, he was asked: 'You drove a tank in the desert? Were you in the Gulf War?'

Encouraged by the Education Team at the RAF Museum, Arthur began volunteering in schools work, both internally and at the Severn Valley Railway and Bantock House Museum. He is now, along with three other volunteer veterans known jointly as 'the A-team', a regular fixture on every school tour at the RAF Museum.