Gloucestershire Local History Association – Working with Schools Forum
Jemma Fowkes and John Putley attended the GLHA forum which met at Gloucestershire Heritage Hub on 9 September with the subject being ‘Working with Schools’. Members from around 15 local history groups attended. The topic is always a perennial favourite among heritage organisations, and it is one of the most difficult things a local history society can tackle, but is a really good way of promoting local history societies amongst the communities that they operate in and potentially obtaining new members from them.
After a general introduction, the room was split into different groups and each group worked through a sheet with questions revolving around the subject. This triggered discussions that ranged from ‘getting past the school secretary’ (always badged as a harridan defending her headmaster & school from unwanted intrusions!) to how groups could work with schools, what subjects local history groups could offer and how to plan potential schemes of work. Other musings included finding out what teachers wanted, safeguarding, identifying suitable subjects in local areas, organising and planning school visits and much more besides. The round-table groups covered a vast range of topics, with some great discussions and there were some really good ideas put forward. Sally Self led the meeting and the end summary and everyone who attended went away with some new insights and good ideas to put to their societies. All in all, it was an excellent afternoon’s work that will no doubt bear fruit.
80 Years, 80 Photos, 80 Stories
Local history enthusiast, Rick Jordan, is keen to create a project to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of both V E Day and V J Day in 2025. The project would be called "80 Years, 80 Photos, 80 Stories - Life on the Home Front".
The first aim of this project would be to select 80 photos taken on The Home Front during World War 2, and to discover the stories behind them. Details might include where the photo was taken, what event was being recorded, the names of the people in the photo and their stories of life during the war and afterwards. Rick is looking for any photos, including those already published in books or online which may not have the full story behind them.
The second aim would be to display the photos and their stories as an exhibition somewhere within Gloucester City. For example at the Gloucestershire Heritage Hub, The Folk of Gloucester Museum, The Soldiers of Gloucester Museum, the County Library Service and anywhere else interested in the project. 
Do you have any photos of life on the Home Front during World War 2, that you would like to contribute to the project? Ideally with as much detail about the photos as you can find.
For more information and to offer help with the project, please phone Rick Jordan on 01453 822936 or 07518020321 or email rickjordan455@gmail.com
Visit Rick's Facebook page to find out more https://www.facebook.com/groups/1041471074102122