Warwickshire News Mine

The first event, Warwickshire at War, on Saturday 11 September from 2pm to 4pm is a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the Record Office offered FREE as part of Heritage Open Days Weekend. 

Members of the public can learn about the work of the Record Office, meet some of the Friends of the Record Office and view some original documents with a World War Two Theme. 

The second event, Make Do and Mend, takes place on Wednesday 15 September from 7pm to 9pm. Maggie Wood, Keeper of Social History for the Warwickshire Museum Service, will lead the session which looks at the imaginative ways people responded to rationing and shortages during World War II.

Related records from this time will also be available for participants to view to help them understand more about wartime life. This event costs £5.00

For those with an interest in researching family members who were involved in the military, the third workshop, Family History: Military Records on Saturday 25 September from 9.15am to 12.15pm will be a popular choice. 

This workshop is run by family historian Jennifer Cranfield and looks at the types of military records available to the family historian and how to access them.  This workshop costs £12.00

Finally, the last event of the series reminds us that not everything of historical importance is always held in museums and archives.  Shirley’s War is held on Monday 27 September from 2pm to 4pm.  Shirley Davies, now President of Wootton Wawen Women’s Institute, gives a very personal account of her memories of wartime Britain, including memories of school, rationing, family life, evacuees and friendship. 

Personal wartime ephemera belonging to Record Office volunteers will also be on display, including parts from a Type X Rotor (the British version of the ‘Enigma’ machine) and a Merlin engine magneto from a Spitfire engine.  This event costs £5.00

All events take place at Warwickshire County Record Office, Priory Park, off Cape Road, Warwick.  Booking is strongly recommended, by calling 01926 738959 Tuesday to Saturday. 

A small photographic exhibition accompanies all these events and community groups are invited to contact the Record Office if they are interested in borrowing the exhibition to display at their own venues. 

Rowan Fisher, Learning and Outreach Officer at Warwickshire County Record Office, said: “We have an interesting collection of World War Two records, including photographs of a Spitfire paid for by Atherstone Rural District Council and accounts in school log books of what life was like for evacuees.  We hope that our programme of events this September will prove to be stimulating and enjoyable.”

Warwickshire County Record Office is involved in safeguarding, managing and developing Warwickshire’s archives so that they can be accessed, interpreted and enjoyed by all those with an interest in Warwickshire’s past and its people. We hold records dating from the twelfth century up to the twenty first.

Visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/countyrecordoffice for more information on general opening times, directions and other useful information.

Link to WCC