Welcome to the Autumn/Winter 2026 edition of the Heritage Hub e-newsletter
We start with some sad news. Everyone at the Heritage Hub was deeply sorry to learn of the death of Liz Jack, a much-loved friend, volunteer, researcher and steadfast supporter of both Gloucestershire Archives and the Gloucestershire Family History Society. Knowledgeable, thoughtful, kind and great fun, Liz had a characteristic twinkle and a generosity of spirit that endeared her to staff, volunteers and visitors alike. She described the Archives as “my happy place”, and over many decades her contribution was immense.
Liz shared her knowledge freely and took particular care to help others discover the rewards of archival research. As an Archives Buddy, she helped people who were new to archives take their first steps with confidence. She was also an expert volunteer with Gloucestershire Family History Society and was unfailingly supportive of archive trainees in the research room. Her gentle prompts were never offered to show how much she knew, but to help others learn and succeed.
Liz (left) testing out acoustic chairs for the new Heritage Hub in 2017 (with Maureen Anderson)
Liz’s scholarship made a lasting contribution to the study of Gloucestershire’s people and places. Her two-volume Discover Gloucestershire Ancestors: Your Guide to the Archives, published in 2012 and 2013, has helped family historians understand and use records held at Gloucestershire Archives and elsewhere. Her specialist knowledge was also reflected in A Rogues’ Gallery, published in 2009, which drew on albums of photographs of prisoners held in Gloucester Gaol in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Her curiosity ranged widely. Liz wrote articles and blogs on subjects including Gloucester’s High Cross, the youngest and oldest Victorian prisoners in Gloucester Gaol, and the Gloucester bricks she found in her garden and researched during the Covid lockdown. She contributed to the ‘Westgate Stories’ and ‘We are Gathered Here’ projects, researching the lives of people who had lived and worked in Westgate Street, which included an extraordinary discovery about a lion! Her work also explored Button Gwinnett, her ancestor who signed the American Declaration of Independence, and she took part in family history films commissioned for Gloucester History Festival. Through these publications, projects and recordings, her knowledge will continue to inform and inspire.
Liz was never content simply to research: she looked for practical ways to help. She worked with her niece through their family history research consultancy Hidden Heritage, took an active part in the Friends’ map project sorting hundreds of duplicate maps, and helped Gloucestershire Archives choose furniture for the new Heritage Hub. Even the yellow mugs she donated reflected her instinct to notice a need and quietly meet it.
She also created several community exhibitions, including displays celebrating the Friends’ 25th anniversary and the anniversary of American independence. One of the clearest examples of her dedication came when, despite undergoing treatment, she made a special journey to deliver the American independence exhibition for the Heritage Hub’s community noticeboards. She regarded it as unfinished business and, characteristically, supplied careful instructions for its display. She was pleased to see photographs of the completed boards and later returned to the Hub to talk about the exhibition and her research.
Liz’s closest friendships were woven through her life at the Archives. She and her great friend Maureen were in the front row when Gloucestershire Archives’ national volunteering awards were celebrated at Llanthony Secunda Priory. Liz embodied everything those awards recognised: sustained commitment, expertise, fellowship and service given with warmth and good humour.
Liz served as a trustee of the Friends of Gloucestershire Archives for more than 25 years, fulfilling a range of roles and latterly editing its newsletter. For the Friends’ 25th anniversary, she created a cake decorated with edible photographs of trustees and members – an imaginative flourish typical of Liz. Her cakes were legendary, not only for their quality but for their abundance. When Helen asked family history volunteers to provide cakes for one Saturday event, she arrived with several boxes; unsurprisingly, every piece disappeared.
Liz leaves an extraordinary legacy in the books, articles, exhibitions, films and research resources she created, but her greatest legacy lies in the people she encouraged and the community she helped to build. Gloucestershire Archives is richer for her knowledge, her practical support and her friendship.
We will remember her with enormous affection and gratitude, and we extend our deepest sympathy to her family and friends.