Finding Belgian refugees in Cymru1914.org: using digital resources for uncovering the hidden histories of the First World War in Wales

Abstract

This paper examines Belgian refugees in Wales during the First World War and local responses to their presence. A case study from a rural, Welsh-speaking area examines how, as the War continued, the refugees became a burden on the dwindling resources of local refugee committees and ultimately had to leave to be re-settled elsewhere. Using digital resources and methods for this study raises issues about fragmentation of sources and the completeness of the archival record, and suggests how digital archives on the Belgian refugee migration may be further developed to enable new insights into local responses to the largest movement of refugees in the early part of the twentieth century.