my Adopted Soldier

Welcome to my Adopted Soldier

Students making History. Creating digital archives in the classroom.
A unique archive of Soldiers, researched and produced by History Students.

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Vector Graphic for MAS in the classroom

Sept 14th 2020
‘my Adopted Soldier’ | in your classroom

As we emerge into a completely changed landscape for education, we are re-thinking and re-designing the ‘my Adopted Soldier’ project. Until we can safely visit your schools again, we are busy developing the project to run remotely. We will provide full classroom set-up, lesson planning, step-by-step guidance and our team is ready to provide project support at all stages. Read more...


Legacy image of Map of Ireland

‘my Adopted Soldier’ | View our legacy archives

Founded in 2014 - the 'my Adopted Soldier' project has uncovered some truly amazing stories to date. Visit our legacy site to browse archives from the 2015 project, which followed students from each county of Ireland on their journey to discover their soldier's story, and the 2017 project which followed students from Ireland and Germany.
Legacy Archives...


Our Archives

All the content on our site has been researched, designed, complied and published by students - assisted and guided by their History Teachers in the process of creating a unique and meaningful archive. These archives are fascinating insights into the experience of War and into the personal stories of often forgotten soldiers.

Each student also outlines his / her own story in the process of creating the archive. The students story represents the voice of today, - many of the soldiers that are remembered were of a similar age to the students.

In turn these archives are now being used as educational resources for a much larger audience around the world.

View the Archives | Contact

About the project

Founded in 2015 by History Teacher and Transition Year co-ordinator Gerry Moore. A personal family connection lead Gerry to realise that there were many soldier stories that were left untold. To help his students learn and connect with history, he decided to get his students to “Adopt” a soldier from their local area and tell their story.

Since our launch in 2015 – we have reached out to many partners and organisations who have fully endorsed the project including: History Teachers Association of Ireland | National Museum of Ireland | Glasnevin Cemetery | GPO Experience | Irish Family History Centre | Leuven Irish College in Belgium | RTE Nationwide | Europeana.eu | Donegal County Council and County Museum | Irish Veterans Association | and many more…

Our site has been archived by the National Library, and has been highlighted as an example project in the development of Empathy in education. Ref: “ The Council of Europe Intergovernmental Project : Educating for Diversity and Democracy: teaching history in contemporary Europe ”

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Get Involved

Nominate a Soldier and be a part of the project - We are looking for schools, historians and individuals to help us create a definitive list of all of those who took part or lost their lives in conflicts including World War 1, the War of Independence, the Irish Civil War and the Easter Rising.

If you know of a relative or neighbour who had a part to play in these conflicts, we would like to hear from you. Get your school involved, start a local project, ask elderly members in your community and add your information.

Nominate a Soldier | Contact

Project Blog & Documentary

For all the latest information on the project – please visit our Blog. We are lucky to have teachers, educators, students and historians blogging on the site, and you will find many interesting stories and perspectives on a wide range of subjects. If you would like to contribute, we would love to hear from you.

If you are interested in any of these subjects and if you would like to contribute to our blog, we would love to hear from you. info@myadoptedsoldier.com

Also, - as part of an extensive programme of commemorations in 2016 RTE Nationwide produced a special documentary following our initial students on the 'my adopted soldier' project. This documentary is now available to view on the RTE website

Project Blog | RTE website | Contact

my Adopted Student

Who is she who kneels above my shrapnel-splintered bones,
who pours potato-scented soil to draw me to my home,
who reads my name through tear-dark eyes, who breathes a choking prayer,
as roses bloom to match her dress and the colours of her hair?
I do not recognise her face her kin unknown to me,
but in her love our county speaks and keeps my memory,
would she had known me as I lived and held me when I fell,
she lifts me now up heaven's slopes for I served my time in hell.

―'my Adopted Student' by David Dunlop