It was one hundred years ago yesterday - at 11am, precisely, that World War One broke out. The initial declaration of war involved only two countries - Austria-Hungary and Serbia - but over the weeks that followed peace tumbled into the exclusive realms of recent memory, and the first great international conflict arose.
One hundred years is ultimately little more than a cultural landmark - a big round number that has been given its own title, a 'century' and seems beyond comprehension to many. One hundred years ago is history to all but a select few who might still recall it from their infancy. Though a cultural construct, it also marks a sort of separation from our past. More than ever, it becomes vital that we remember the horrors and heroics that brought us to the world we live in today. One of our favourite approaches to this challenge comes by way of the various Twitter accounts that have pledged to report the First World War, day by day, as it happened one hundred years ago. We've rounded up our favourites in hope that we can further their efforts to keep history alive!
7000+ followers
Real Time WWI might be the third most popular of the accounts we're featuring here, but it's certainly earned its followers. A comprehensive study that often lets its statuses overflow into more than one tweet, and is prone to sharing interesting photos that pair with the news. Yesterday's understated tweet announcing Austria-Hungary's declaration of war was followed with a copy of the telegrammed document itself.
50+ followers
Like @RealTimeWWI, this account has been tweeting for roughly a month - since the centenary of Archduke Ferdinand's assassination. It's clearly a passion project for whoever is behind it; though tweets are frequent and informative, we're still waiting on one to mark the declaration of war that started it all off. Still, plenty of detail ensures the account sometimes feels like a behind-the-scenes of the war we all know so well.
10700+ followers
Having been around since early 2012, @CenturyAgoToday isn't strictly dedicated to WW1. Nevertheless, it will have to focus on the war more and more over the coming years, and it offers all sorts of wider historical context both socially and otherwise. Ever since this morning's declaration of war, @CenturyAgoToday have been the most prolific tweeters, sharing all sorts of information in the few short hours that the war has had to develop.
350+ followers
Efficiency is the name of the game with @WW1Now - their updates are short, sweet and to the point. It's possibly the most Twitter-friendly of our selection, with frequent hashtags allowing easy exploration of the topics at hand. The account's brief tweets are an excellent kicking off point for personal historical exploration, though. Coverage of the future HMS Agincourt's construction led us to discover much more of the ship's rich history.
13600+ followers
The celebrity of the war-tweeting scene, Sky News specialises, like several others, in quick and tidy summations. The account limits itself somewhat by seemingly insisting on only one update a day, and we wonder how this will be maintained once the war is in full swing and events come thick and fast. For now though, @SkyNewsWW1 has one overwhelmingly fun factor - in keeping with their main function in the modern world, the biggest stories often come with a 'breaking news' warning! This is the war, as seen through the eyes of a news channel in ways they otherwise might never have been able to.
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