I was very privileged recently to meet a group of community volunteers who are dedicated to preserving our heritage and passing their experiences onto the next generation. They are a great group of people who are committed to the cause of bringing history to life and showing its modern relevance.
I visited the University of the Third Age (U3A) Wanderers in their base at Marley Hill Community Centre. The group started life as the Social History Group of the U3A, which was founded in 1995.
Their first project was recording the history of the 20th century in the villages of the old Whickham Urban District. They then decided to use the Internet and the Whickham Web Wanderers were born. The project gained momentum and a vast amount of information was gathered. Photographs were collected and local residents were interviewed to record their memories.
The Web Wanderers have now embarked on a new project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and which seeks to enlisting the help of primary school children. The project is called "That Was Then" and allows children to see how the past affects the present and the future. It explains events of the Second World War through the eyes of those who lived through them and how these events influence present day life.
One of their volunteers is a local woman who was a Land Girl, one of the vast army of girls and women whose job was to "dig for victory" and help feed the country when food imports took second place to arms or were prey to the killer submarines of the Nazi navy.
They display a photograph of how she looked then with her hand knitted doll and a nearly authentic uniform. This has been very well received by the young people and highlights how wartime necessity encouraged people to come together to care for each other.
The project involves working with the Beamish Museum and Gateshead City Learning Centre and they aim to involve 24 schools over the next three years. You can find out more about the group at www.webwanderers.org
Newcastle Chronicle and Journal
| Promoted by Paul Foy on behalf of Dave Anderson, both of St Cuthbert's Church Hall, Shibdon Road, Blaydon, NE21 5PT |