• National Historic Ships UK project will tell of the vital wartime role of 60 surviving vessels ranging from humble barges and fishing boats to powerful fighting ships
• ‘Blinded by War’ project will investigate how the need to treat blinded war veterans revolutionised medical research and ophthalmic medicine in both Britain and Germany
• A project revealing how famous author John Galsworthy devoted his literally skills to demanding a better deal for service veterans

The First World War and the Sea – A Maritime Centenary
National Historic Ships UK has received a £64,700 HLF grant for a project that will tell the story of 60 surviving vessels, highlighting the significant engagements, campaigns and events during the war connected with each vessel’s service and creating a dedicated website and a touring exhibition. Among the vessels will be HMS Caroline, the last surviving British warship that took part in the Battle of Jutland; SS Nomadic, a passenger tender for the Titanic that was pressed into service as an American troopship; and Pembeth of Clyde, a humble oyster smack that carried hay for artillery horses. The vessels are moored on rivers and in harbours throughout the UK.

Blinded by War
Photographs and paintings of blinded soldiers walking ‘hands-on-shoulders’ from the battlefields are amongst the most striking images of the First World War. Now a Birmingham-based organisation for blind and partially sighted adults and young people is to investigate how the need to treat blinded war veterans revolutionised medical research. A £10,000 HLF grant to the Insight Society will enable the Blinded by War project to organise visits to the Imperial War Museum in London to listen to historians explain how poison gas was used, and also to the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons to learn about how surgery and treatment developed as a result of the war. The information gathered will be used to create a website and a series of podcasts.

Galsworthy and Human Battles on the Home Front
Author and Nobel laureate John Galsworthy is best known for his novels and plays that dramatised social class in Edwardian England but his campaigning for injured servicemen from the First World War has gone almost entirely unnoticed, until now. Kingston upon Thames, the town of his birth, will be putting the record straight, thanks to a £55,800 HLF grant. Rose Theatre Kingston will be marking the centenary next year with its project Galsworthy and Human Battles on the Home Front.

The project will draw on the Galsworthy archives including letters, poems and journals never before been exhibited in his home town. A collection will be displayed at the theatre and other venues alongside local memorabilia from the home front in Kingston, including facts about disabled veterans, children that worked in local munitions factories and troops from ethnic minorities.

DCMS Minister, Helen Grant MP, commented: “The Heritage Lottery Fund’s small grants programme is a brilliant way of helping people all over the country to develop their plans to mark the centenary. The war fundamentally changed the course of world history and it’s really important that we mark its centenary in a way that makes sense for all our communities, and particularly for young people.  These grants are fine examples of the sheer range of people’s plans, and the imagination and creativity they are bringing to this moment. This is exactly the sort of work that the National Lottery should be supporting.”

HLF is making at least £1million available per year for six years until 2019 to projects through its First World War: then and now programme. HLF will provide small grants between £3,000 and £10,000 enabling communities and groups right across the UK to explore, conserve and share their First World War heritage and deepen their understanding of the impact of the conflict.

To find out how to apply for funding, visit First World War: then and now programme page. If your group needs a grant of more than £10,000 for a First World War project, please apply through HLF’s open programmes.

Notes to editors

Follow us on twitter @heritagelottery #understandingWW1

On 4 August 2014 it will be 100 years since Britain entered the First World War. Within Government, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is leading plans to build a commemoration fitting of this significant milestone in world history. As the Prime Minister made clear when he launched the programme in October 2012, the main theme will be remembrance with a particular focus on bringing the centenary alive for young people. There will be a number of national events across the four years, as well as cross-Government programmes to help deliver this. Further details can be found at the Government's First World War Centenary page; #WW1

Further information

For further information please contact

HLF press office: Vicky Wilford on 020 7591 6046 / 07973 401 937, email vickyw@hlf.org.uk or Phil Cooper on: 07889 949 173.

The First World War and the Sea – A Maritime Centenary
National Historic Ships UK: Hannah Cunliffe on 0208 312 8558.

Blinded by War
Insight Society: Ian Fellows on: 07973 213 053.

Galsworthy and Human Battles on the Home Front
Rose Theatre Trust: Emma Richards on 07779 258 547 or 020 8939 4053.