The EVOKE Project and Memories Café at Gloucestershire Heritage Hub

It’s hard to believe that the EVOKE project is very nearly at the end of its 2-year span and I delivered the last session this morning. This time I was talking to a group of carers at Gloucestershire Carer’s Hub - just around the corner in Worcester Street. I had mixed feelings as I packed away the iPads for perhaps the last time: a sense of achievement at the completion of a successful project and a slightly heavy heart that it was coming to an end.

EVOKE was designed in response to the recognition that archives can bring benefits to many people who don’t currently use our service or know about us. The power of reminiscence for people living with dementia and the people caring for them is well established, and so a project which takes archive resources out to community places like day care centres and memory cafés was born.

Over the course of 2 years we’ve visited places all over the county (and South Glos.) and shared stories and laughter with around 800 people. Carers told us that they found out things they never knew about the people they are looking after, and some people who we were told ‘didn’t usually join in’ did so with gusto. As with so many of our activities at the archives, much of this was made possible because of the team of magnificent volunteers who gave their time, positivity and energy to making the sessions friendly and fun.

The monthly Memories Café was a spin off from EVOKE and has been a regular feature in our programme on the first Sunday of every month since April 2019. Sunday afternoons can be an empty point in the week for some older people, so we decided to fill that space with companionship, conversation and cake. The café offers free refreshments, live music and activities with a nostalgic flavour. It is open to everyone and we take pride in making sure that all our customers have a good time. People living with dementia and their friends and families are sure of a safe and welcoming experience. We’re having a break over the winter months with plans to emerge from hibernation in the Spring.

Over the past 2 years I’ve collected loads of quotes from people at EVOKE sessions and at the café . Here are a few of my favourites:

‘It was great fun and very relaxing. It was lovely to share my memories with you and to remember all those happy times’.

‘The residents carried on chatting for ages after you had left, and the mood around the residents’ lounge was really happy for the rest of the morning’.

‘We love coming here. Mum really looks forward to it.’

‘Usually when P and I come to this kind of thing he says ‘What am I doing here?’  - but here he just fits in and has a great time. You’re all so good at making people feel relaxed and included’.

Kate O'Keefe

New Book Stock – January 2020

There is a fascinating array of books on the New Book Stock shelves in the searchroom at the moment.  Most of them were published and added to stock during 2019.

This is just a small selection of items available for research at Gloucestershire Archives.Gloucestershire Archives is always grateful to receive items in printed or digital format to enhance stock.

Top shelf

A-Z Cheltenham, Places, People, History – David Elder. Eclectic mixture of subjects covered in this format.

Woman with the Iceberg Eyes:  Oriana J. Wilson – Katherine MacInnes

Laurie Lee Down in the Valley A Writer’s Landscape – Edited by David Parker

The Medieval Clothier – John S. Lee (Published 2018). Plate VII in this volume shows a portrait of Thomas Bell, a Mayor of Gloucester who acquired Blackfriars Priory after the dissolution of the monasteries. He made the main church his mansion and used other buildings as workshops for his weavers.

The Last Days, Lower Chedworth 1840 – 1959 – Barry Pilkington

Second shelf

My adventures with Britain’s Rare Breeds – A Breed Apart – Adam Henson. Biographical information from Countryfile presenter and owner of the Cotswold Farm Park based in Gloucestershire

Werner Zorek:  From Breslau to Gloucester and Beyond – Michael Zorek. Information about the Kindertransport scheme

Maps for Family and Local History – The records of the Tithe, Valuation Office and National Farm Surveys of England and Wales 1836 – 1943 – Second revised Edition – Geraldine Beech and Rose Mitchell. This was published in 2004 but only presented to Gloucestershire Archives by the kind gift of Charlie Morriss in November 2019

Gloucestershire Record Series Volume 33 ‘Conspicuously marked’:  Vehicle Registration in Gloucestershire, 1903 -13 – Edited by Peter Barlow and Martin Bootham.  The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society. This book was launched and well received during Gloucester History Festival 2019 and as usual with these volumes it includes some really useful indexes.  Index of Places, Index of Names, Index of Occupations, Index of Car Manufacturers and Index of Motor Manufacturers.  The vehicle registrations examined are AD for the County of Gloucestershire and FH for the City of Gloucester.  There is also a fascinating introduction explaining the information that survives about vehicle registration in Gloucestershire.

The History of Tewkesbury’s War Hospitals 1914 – 1918 ‘Alien Duties for the Privileged’? – John Dixon with research assisted by Linda Kean-Price THS Publications No. 17

Third Shelf

Historic England Gloucestershire Unique Views from the Archives of Historic England, by David Elder

Stroud and the Five Valleys From Old Photographs – Howard Beard

Gloucester From Old Photographs – Images from John Rowden – Philip Moss & Derrick Hall. This was published in 2016 but has been a constant favourite with people looking at old photographs of Gloucester.

Secret Forest of Dean – Mark Turner. Photographs and information from across the Forest of Dean district about places not always well-known.

A-Z of Gloucester, Places, People, History – Roger Smith. Eclectic mixture of subjects covered in this format.

Bottom Shelf

Kiftsgate Court Gardens Three Generations of Women Gardeners – Vanessa Berridge. Sumptuous photography by Sabina Ruber helps to make this a fascinating study of these internationally well-known gardens

The New Regard The Journal of the Forest of Dean Local History Society. Contains a variety of articles about local research by some of the members.

Cheltenham Local History Journal. Contains a variety of articles about local research by some of the members.

Also on display in the research room at the moment are a few books from the English Civil War collection, which was transferred to Gloucestershire Archives from Stow on the Wold Library a few years ago. These give a flavour of the much larger collection which is kept in our strong rooms, but is fully listed and orderable on the online catalogue.

Archive & Records Association Volunteering Award 2019

Volunteers, staff and ARA representatives enjoyed the celebration afternoon which included two films showcasing volunteering at the Heritage Hub and of course lots of tea and cake.

  

Aideen Ireland (President of ARA), Karl Magee (Chair of ARA Board), Sally Self (Volunteer), Sally Middleton (Community Heritage Development Officer) and Heather Forbes (Head of Gloucestershire Archives)

    

Sally Self and Sally Middleton accepting the Volunteering Award from Aideen Ireland.

   

Volunteers and staff getting ready to watch the two films showcasing volunteering in action

   

Sarah Orton, Volunteer Makers, addressing the audience about the impact and value of volunteering

 

Volunteer Liz Jack hands out packets of sweet pea seeds to other volunteers as a small thank you from Gloucestershire Archives.

For more information about the Volunteering Award read the article in the Autumn 2019 e-newsletter here

Gloucestershire Building Recording Group

WHO ARE WE & WHAT WE DO

The GBRG was founded in 1993. By 2014 the group had recorded 159 buildings in Gloucestershire, and around 64 buildings in the county have been precisely dated through tree‐ring dating.

Three main aims of the GBRG are:

• To be active in the recording of buildings.
• To encourage the publication of research on buildings.
• To act as a hub for information on building archaeology.

Siddington Tithe Barn

Our on going recording & research helps identify what building features and types are common or rare in Gloucestershire. Also, we are starting to develop online photographic records and glossaries of period features and buildings for the County.

We are not just interested in timber‐ framed buildings. Later brick buildings have their own datable features too. Learn the different types of roof Learn the different types of brick bonds If you have any queries, or own an old building which you would like to learn more about on its history, please get in touch with us.

Read the BBC article about the group here

Membership of the GBRG costs just £14 per year, (or just £12 per year if paid by standing order). Visit www.buildingarchaeology.org for details on how to join the Gloucestershire Building Recording Group.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gloucester Buildings Recording Group, Oakraven Field Centre, Jubilee Rd, Mitcheldean, Gloucestershire, GL17 OEE. 

Tel: 01594 369 343

E‐mail: enquiries@buildingarchaeology.org

Website: www.buildingarchaeology.org

See event listing here for Structural Movement of Historic Buildings and How to Specify Repairs

You might also be interested in -

Committee for Archaeology in Gloucestershire -  Annual Symposium 2020 - A day of Gloucester archaeology.  A conference on Saturday 21^st March 2020. More details here.

Victoria County History

Maintaining progress across three areas of the county – Cheltenham, Cirencester, Yate and the Sodburys – relies on continual fund raising, so that we can employ experienced researchers to work alongside our valued (and valuable) volunteers. In February we were lucky enough to be able to hold an event at Cheltenham Town Hall, thanks to the generous support of the Honourable Company of Gloucestershire. Around 50 people bought tickets to the event. John Chandler, our former County Editor, described the background to the VCH and talked about our work in Cheltenham. He was followed by our Cirencester editor Katy Layton Jones, who used the example of the post-war Polish resettlement camp between Daglingworth and Baunton to demonstrate how a significant recent event in a community's history can leave little visible evidence on the ground.

Sadly Katy has now left us to take up a role with the OU.

We're continuing to post drafts of our Work in Progress on the VCH Central website (https://www.victoriacountyhistory.ac.uk/counties/gloucestershire/work-in-progress). We welcome comments on these, so do please have a look and let us know what you think.

If you are interested in finding out about volunteering with the VCH, do contact me.

Jan Broadway, VCH Co-ordinator

janb@xmera.co.uk 

A generous donation

The Family History Society is delighted to have received a donation of local and historical books, hand drawn maps, histories including of Gloucester Inns, churches, ancient roads, rivers, mills and much more from the family of Brian Sysum. 

 

Some of the donated books and maps

Hand drawn map of the inns and churches of Gloucester

Brian who sadly passed away in in early January worked as a sign writer before he retired and was a regular visitor to the Family History Centre and Gloucestershire Archives. His daughter, Sue, who brought her father's collection in, said about her dad ‘he was totally obsessed about Gloucester history and the civil war. Everyday, morning, noon and night’.

Sue Sysum and David Howell

GFHS would like to thank Brian’s family for their generous donation.

For more information about Gloucestershire Family History Society please visit gfhs.org.uk/

For a list of talks in 2020 visit the GFHS events page

Enhancing the Heritage Hub entrance

The Friends are best known for buying documents for the Archives, for raising funds for the recent refurbishment, and for their outings and talks. Our latest activity was somewhat different. 

We were concerned that the approach to the new Hub entrance was rather barren. Two broad flower beds by the entrance were just mud and weeds after the building contractors left.  Not the most welcoming sight for visitors.

We could not afford to employ a professional garden designer so approached a firm called Garden on a Roll which provides off the shelf planting designs, and also supplies all the required plants.  In due course large rolls of biodegradable paper arrived with all the plant positions marked on them, together with four crates of plants – a kind of painting by numbers but for gardens.  The crates contained a vast variety of plants, some familiar but other much less well known, and all in tip top condition.

 

On a rather damp Saturday at the end of September members of the Friends, with help from some noble staff members, set about planting nearly 200 shrubs and perennials. The following few days of rain were a godsend as they saved us the task of watering them in.

All the plants have survived the early days of Winter and we look forward to seeing them flourish in the Spring. We think the plants add considerably to the appearance of the Hub’s entrance, and we’ve been so grateful for all the many appreciative comments.  And our thanks to all the Friends whose annual subscriptions make such activities possible.

Behind the scenes at Gloucester Cathedral

In November the Friends organised a behind the scenes visit to Gloucester Cathedral. It was a chance to see parts of the building that the thousands of visitors each year never get to experience.

Becky Phillips, the Cathedral Archivist, gave us a conducted tour of the medieval Library and explained its history, including how most of the early books were dispersed at the dissolution of the monasteries and how the Library served for many years as the home of the Cathedral’s school before housing the records and books of the Dean and Chapter. She displayed a selection of documents which she thought would particularly interest us, a music score annotated by Sir Edward Elgar, manuscript music used by the choir in the 1600s, an Anglo Saxon manuscript narrating the life of a saint, and much more.

After a short break during which members could explore the Treasury and the new Tribune Gallery on their own, we ascended to the organ loft and squeezed past the vast organ case to reach the console from where it is played. Jonathan Hope, the Cathedral’s Assistant Director of Music and a well-known recitalist, explained the history of the instrument, which stretches back over 350 years.  He demonstrated the great versatility of the organ, the enormous variety of different sounding stops, and its ability to create the quietest ethereal sound and yet also to fill the Cathedral with ear-deafening music.  More than one member was seen to clasp their hands over their ears when Jonathan demonstrated the harmonic trumpet located just a few feet away from us.

Our thanks to Becky and Jonathan for a delightful and illuminating visit.

To join the Friends or to make a donation please visit: www.foga.org.uk

Know Your Place workshop

Saturday 1^st February, 2020 2 - 4pm Postponed due to the Know Your Place website being upgraded.

Saturday 4th April, 2020 2 - 4pm

This workshop is aimed at introducing Gloucestershire’s fabulous free online mapping service; Know Your Place. You’ll learn how to access the website, navigate around it and use its features – especially the map comparison tool. You are welcome to bring your own laptop, tablet or other mobile device for a hands-on trial using the Heritage Hub’s free Wi-Fi. There will also be a presentation looking at some of the wonderful maps held in Gloucestershire Archives!  

 

A joint Gloucestershire Family History Society and Gloucestershire Archives event

archives@gloucestershire.gov.uk

01452 425295

The Heritage Hub, Clarence Row, Alvin St, Gloucester, GL1 3DW

Free training at the Heritage Hub

An introduction to collection care

7 February 2020, 10am - 15.30pm

You will learn to identify and protect against risks to your archive collection; understand and source archival enclosures; and appreciate a range of actions for protecting archive collections. 

Link collection care activity to a helpful framework, prioritise collection care tasks and discover trusted sources of help and advice.

Managing your collections training

11 February 2020, 9.30 - 11.30am

This module is aimed at people with little or no previous archive or record keeping knowledge.

Introduction to managing your collections:

• Are people offering you their old documents and photos?
• Does your community have an “archive cupboard” known only to a few?
• Do you find yourself responsible for precious archive material?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, this module can help.

We will look at how to:

• decide what items to collect
• organise and keep track of what you’ve got
• share your treasures and involve more people in their local heritage

Digital preservation training

11 February 2020, 11.45 - 1pm

21 February 2020, 10am - 1pm

Book online – www.heritagehub.org.uk

archives@gloucestershire.gov.uk  |  01452 425295 

The Heritage Hub, Clarence Row, Alvin St, Gloucester, GL1 3DW

           

Friends of Gloucestershire Archives - Talks and visits

TUESDAY 11 FEBRUARY, 2.30 - 4PM

 'After 180 years what do you expect me to do with that?'

Afternoon talk at Gloucestershire Heritage Hub, Alvin Row, GL1 3DW

Talk by Sue Webb, the force Archivist, Gloucestershire Constabulary Archives.

2.30pm - tea and biscuits

3 - 4pm - talk and questions

Members of FoGA - Free

Visitors - £3

Any queries? Contact jemma.fowkes@Gloucestershire.gov.uk 

WEDNESDAY 4 MARCH, afternoon

Afternoon visit to The Museum in the Park, Stroud

Talk by the collections officer: ‘Meet the Curators Past and Present’

Opportunity to explore the museum displays, walled garden and temporary exhibition ‘Endangered and Extinct’

Visit to the museum stores and archives.  Tea and Cakes.

APRIL/MAY – dates and details to follow

Gloucestershire’s influential 20th-century craftspeople.  Proposed talk and visits

SUNDAY 14  JUNE

Mystery Tour

Another of historian John Chandler’s fascinating all-day coach tours –

Where will it be in 2020?  Trust him, join us and find out!

Pick ups in Cheltenham and Gloucester.

Watch for more information on FoGA’s notice board in The Heritage Hub

Visit the website for further details and booking forms  www.foga.org.uk  

Gloucestershire Family History Society

Programme of Talks 2020

All talks at the Heritage Hub, 7.30 - 9pm. Free entry.

12 February - An Introduction to DNA for Family Historians

Amelia Bennett

11 March - The History of Gloucester's Trams 1875-1933. A fully illustrated talk

Paul Drinkwater

8 April - Written in Stone. Recording the gravestones of St Cyr's.

Kate Hudson (Stinchcombe History Society)

13 May - Lost Cheltenham - using images which reveal the changing face of the town, illustrating the buildings, trades and traditions that have been lost and consigned to memory.

Rebecca Sillence

10 June - Never Better - a project looking at the history of mental health using records from Gloucester Asylums

Sally Middleton - Community Heritage Development Officer for Gloucestershire Archives.

8 July - A History of the Dowty Group and the archives held at the Heritage Hub

Ally McConnell - Archivist at Gloucestershire Archives

9 September - AGM followed by resources and help with researching Police Ancestors.

Sue Webb - Gloucestershire Police Archivist

Visit https://gfhs.org.uk/ for more information.

Jolly Wassail!

15th February 2020 1:00pm – 4:00pm

A Kingsholm community event - all welcome

Come along to the Archives and wassail our apple trees (old and new) for the forthcoming year! Find out about the history of this old tradition and listen to local wassailing songs.

• Wassail procession
• free games & art activities
• free BBQ food
• free fruit punch
• free hot drinks
• free cake

Bring a pot & wooden spoon to take part in the wassail procession

   

archives@gloucestershire.gov.uk

01452 425295

The Heritage Hub, Clarence Row, Alvin St, Gloucester, GL1 3DW

 

Lives of Colour: I-MMigrate Exhibition

Lives of Colour I-MMIGRATE exhibition is a curation of 20 images and oral histories.

Saturday 15 February to 18 April 2020, 10am - 5pm

FREE! (but all donations welcome)

Museum of Gloucester,Brunswick Road, Gloucester, GL1 1HP.

(01452) 396131 | museum@gloucester.gov.uk | www.museumofgloucester.co.uk

These are stories of black and minority ethnic communities from the Windrush generation in Gloucester and African diaspora in Cheltenham of their experience of moving and living in their new home land. They chose to travel from different countries to come, rebuild and seek a better life in the UK.

The year 2018 marked 70 years since the ship MV Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Docks, Essex, on 22 June 1948. It brought people from Jamaica, Trinidad, and other Caribbean Islands to help rebuild the UK after the war (ons.gov.uk 2019). Today, those who arrived to live in the UK between 1948 to 1971 have been labelled as the Windrush generation. People have continued to migrate to the UK from the Commonwealth countries. In 1990, many African’s came to Cheltenham through the education and cultural programme a partnership with the Rendevous Society. The formation of a friendship town between Kisumu and Cheltenham Borough Council let to many from Kenya to settle in Cheltenham.

Lives of Colour a project by Nowans Community Trust charity in partnership with photojournalism students at the University of Gloucestershire have been working to curate a collection of portraits and oral histories. The project was specifically focused on the Windrush generation in Gloucester and the African diaspora in Cheltenham. This was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund since 2018 and marks the contribution of our multicultural society.

https://www.gloucester.gov.uk/museum-of-gloucester/latest-news/lives-of-colour-i-mmigrate-exhibition/

Stand and Deliver

Wednesday 19 February (half-term) 2 - 4pm

Free entry. No booking required. The Heritage Hub, Clarence Row, Alvin St, Gloucester, GL1 3DW

Come for a gallop as we take to the road to find out all about those dashing scoundrels, the highwaymen (and women) in the company of the notorious local rogue, The Shadow!

Discover why they became famous, how they operated and where in the county they lurked! Then get crafty and make your very own tricorn hat and mask - Huzzah!!

archives@gloucestershire.gov.uk

01452 425295

Gloucestershire Building Recording Group

27^th Feb 2020 – Structural Movement of Historic Buildings and How to Specify Repairs

10-4pm at St Mary De Crypt Gloucester. Tickets £38.32.

This workshop will be presented by Professor John Edwards of Edwards Hart and The Environmental Studies Centre as a leader in the Conservation of Historic Buildings. This workshop will focus on the likely causes of movement in Historic Buildings and how this can be sensitively repaired. Event is subsidised by NLHF. Further details at Eventbrite

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gloucester Buildings Recording Group Oakraven Field Centre, Jubilee Rd, Mitcheldean, Gloucestershire, GL17 OEE

To read more about GBRG click here

Tel: 01594 369 343

E‐mail: enquiries@buildingarchaeology.org

Website: www.buildingarchaeology.org

Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society

Committee for Archaeology in Gloucestershire

 Annual Symposium 2020 - A day of Gloucester archaeology

A conference on Saturday 21^st March 2020

Lecture Theatre, Oxstalls Campus, University of Gloucestershire

10am to 5pm

 Cost £15 each

Speakers and talks

  Amy Bunce - The archaeology of Project Pilgrim

  Peter Cox - The rural hinterland: multi-period activity at Grange Road

  Carolyn Heighway - Gloucester Abbey: the Romanesque elements

  Henry Hurst - 11-17 Southgate Street, fifty years on

  Andrew Mudd - Roman legacies: excavations at Upper Quay Street 1989 and Ladybellegate Street 1991

  Kevin Potter - Discoveries at St Mary de Crypt

  Martin Watts - Llanthony Secunda Re-Formation project

  Professor Keith Wilkinson - My time in prison: geoarchaeological borehole surveys of Gloucester’s historic waterfront                                               

Free parking is available on the campus. The Stagecoach Cheltenham-Gloucester 94 bus stops outside the campus gates.

Click for maps of Oxstalls Campus. The lecture theatre is on the ground floor of the library block (no. 2 on the map).

Tea and coffee are included and will be provided at mid-morning and afternoon breaks.

The university canteen will not be open at lunchtime, so please bring a packed lunch. Alternatively pub meals are available at the King Edward and Greyhound pubs a short drive away. There is a Co-op store in Longlevens (a ten minute walk). 

To book tickets please visit Eventbrite here

British Association for Local History

BALH Annual Regional Conference

Saturday 21 March, 10:00 to 16:30

Albermarle Centre, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 1BA (the centre is with in walking distance of the railway station)

£20 for BALH members, £25 non members

Lunch, tea and coffee included

National and local sources are brought to light by seven speakers on subjects ranging from railway accidents to taxation records, the Court of Wards and house insurance.

Keynote speaker: Paul Dryburgh from the National Archive

For more information visit www.balh.org.uk/news 

GLHA Local History Day

   

Gloucestershire Local History Association is organising a Local History Day to be held at the University of Gloucestershire, Oxstalls Campus on Saturday 25^th April 2020.

The theme of the day will be The History of Education in Gloucestershire and will feature talks by three speakers on different aspects of the topic. There will also be displays from local history groups showcasing their research on education in their community. The winner of the Bryan Jerrard Award for the best article on an aspect of Gloucestershire’s history in a local history publication during 2019 will be announced, and also the winner of the Best Display. Refreshments will be available.

Details will be posted on the GLHA website www.gloshistory.org.uk as soon as the programme is finalised.

 

Coach trips to The National Archives and Kew

Thursday 14 May 2020 and Tuesday 29 September 2020

Pick up points:

Whitminster (opposite the Whitminster Inn) - 8.00am

Gloucester (junction of London Road and Bruton Way outside Roberts Limbrick Architects) - 8.30am

Hucclecote (Royal Oak) - 8.45am

Cirencester (The Beeches Car Park) - 9.20am

Depart The National Archives - 6.30pm

(return to Gloucester approx. 8.30pm)

The cost of each trip - £22.00 per person (inclusive of the driver's gratuity).

The coach will have toilet facilities. All bookings will be acknowledged by email when advice regarding the pre-ordering of documents and obtaining a readers' ticket will be given.

To book your place(s) visit gfhs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/GFHS-Coach-Trips-to-TNA-Kew-Gardens-2020.pdf 

Rose Hewlett, 9 Vicarage Lane, Frampton on Severn, Gloucester GL2 7EE

gloucestershirehousehistories@gmail.com  01452 740894 or 07710 182678

Gloucester History Festival

This year’s History Festival, explores the theme Voyagers and Visionaries which marks anniversaries including the 400th anniversary of the voyage of the Mayflower from the UK to America and the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale. From pioneers who fought for their beliefs to explorers who ventured into the unknown, the Festival will use this pivotal moment in history to explore freedom, adventure, migration, identity and how journeys near and far have shaped our past.

At Blackfriars Priory the History Festival will welcome some of the country's leading historians. Festival President Janina Ramirez will start a week of lively talks with her keynote event . A wonderful variety of speakers will reveal extraordinary stories and compelling history full of humour, mystery, death and destruction. Past speakers have included Dan Snow, Alice Roberts, Lucy Worsley, David Olusoga, Kate Adie, Natalie Haynes and Stephen McGann to name a few. This year promises to be just as fascinating, wide ranging and informative as previous years.

The exciting City Voices programme brings together community projects from across Gloucester, celebrating and highlighting our amazing history and culture. City Voices enables everyone of all ages to find out more about history in fun accessible ways through hands on activities, exhibitions, storytelling, documentaries, music and much more. Many events are organised by local community groups giving a voice to local heritage, sometimes forgotten, and often with national significance.

 With over 200 events, tours and historical buildings open to the public there really will be something for everyone.

What a busy year it has been for Gloucestershire Police Archives

This year we have attended 14 events with various sized displays and assorted paraphernalia, 3 evening talks have been given and we have answered 140 queries from right around the world.

Since the last newsletter we have attended 4 events

The 180^th anniversary celebrations at the Heritage Hub attended by both the Chief Constable and the Police and Crime commissioner

The force carol service at Tewkesbury Abbey

The constabulary awards ceremony

An event hosted by the chief constable for the Honourable Company

We are still working on a number of projects. We have made some progress in the mammoth task of identifying police stations and houses, we are working on listing the personnel files that we have on hand and making it easier for us to find what information they contain and to answer queries about people’s police ancestors. My favourite task is following the twists and turns that are often thrown up when a query is received or items are donated. We have been given photographs that have been rescued from a skip many years ago and kept safely as well as things donated by former officers. We are still working on expanding our collar number list that helps us identify officers in photographs and we continue to build our database that is now above 10,000 documents, photographs and artefacts.

Visit https://gloucestershirepolicearchives.org.uk/ for more information.