Living Links Community Archives Project film

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

(Caroline Edwards – County Archivist, Hampshire Record Office)

Caroline Edwards: The idea for the community archives project Living Links, came about because it was recognised that there is a real interest in local community history. It was all about making links into communities, from Hampshire Record Office and from the Isle of Wight Record Office. It was a way of making contact with real people in real communities, and helping them to see the relevance of archives. This has been an opportunity to open up, if you like, this treasure house to a wider range of people, to encourage them to come and discover material that will help them to fill in the jigsaw, if you like, of the story of their own cmmunity.

(Mike Gee – Archivist, Wherwell Local History Group)

Mike Gee: We’ve got too much history in the village, so we though really it was about time we got things together and started a history group.

(Andrew Flanagan – Chairman, Wherwell Local History Group)

Andrew Flanagan: Our main focus is on archives and oral interviews. The archives were either trying to identify and catalogue stuff that exits from the past or we’re trying to create archive records now that will become the history of the future.

(Pauline Tyrell - Freshwater and total Archive Group)

Pauline Tyrell: We’ve had twelve displays up to now. We’ve had displays in various shop windows in the village. People have really enjoyed looking at them. There’s always somebody looking in the window. We’ve been to the courses in Winchester, and we’ve learnt a lot, and we’ve come back and passed on what we’ve learnt to the rest of the group. We’re just learning so much about the area.

(Caroline Edwards – County Archivist, Hampshire Record Office)

Caroline Edwards: The creative projects have really given us an opportunity to reach new groups and to get some very exciting outcomes. We’ve undertaken a range of those projects, including working with adults with learning difficulties, ethnic minority groups such as the Nepalese group in north Hampshire. We’ve worked with a group of villages where they’ve explored their history and brought it to life in the theatre in a theatrical production

(Penton Players)

“We were as poor then as we are now”

“So we only paid one silver penny”

“So we got the name Penny-ton, get it!?”

(Caroline Edwards – County Archivist, Hampshire Record Office)

Caroline Edwards: We’ve worked with some youth groups through the Edge project in Basingstoke and Gosport, and its helped them to develop a sense of place but also given them skills of animation, film making and so on.

(Brenda Smith and Rita Joyner – Friends of Gosport Museum)

Brenda “I couldn’t dive”

Rita “No I wouldn’t know how to do it”

Brenda “So we used to sit on the edge and jump in”

Rita “And admire the young lads who could dive”

Brenda “Superb diving”

(Caroline Edwards – County Archivist, Hampshire Record Office)

Caroline Edwards: It’s taken archives to a whole new level in a way. Its really demonstrated what relevance they can have to groups and people in all sorts of different ways.

(Janette Gregson – Secretary, Ryde Social Heritage Group)

Janette Gregson: We went to them with a proposal to produce the Ryde Heritage Audio Trail and very kindly they accepted our proposal, and helped us to produce this fantastic project.

(Excerpt from the Ryde Audio Trail)

“Look up at the crest of Princess Victoria. This building was created the year before Victoria became Queen. If you look inside the building you will see at the rear, an original stained glass window with the initials PV, for Princess Victoria.”

(Caroline Edwards – County Archivist, Hampshire Record Office)

Caroline Edwards: ‘Who do we think we are?’ is the title of the exhibition that Living Links has created. Its been to fifteen different venues, and it is available if any groups would wish to display it.

Another strand of Living Links has been the Archives Ambassadors scheme. What we’ve done is set up a series of training events for these Archives Ambassadors, where we’ve given them skills in looking after their archive collections, whether it’s  creating oral histories, or digitising, or conserving them. They’re able to take these skills back to the community groups and pass it on.

(Andrew Flanagan – Chairman, Wherwell Local History Group)

Andrew Flanagan: The group had a very good behind the scenes tour. We took about a dozen members with us, and it was fascinating the archive material that they got out that related to Wherwell.

(Caroline Edwards – County Archivist, Hampshire Record Office)

Caroline Edwards: Without exception they are always stunned by what they find because it’s an unknown quantity, they have very little idea of the vast range of material that’s relevant to them.

We’re very conscious that we want to get out to people out in communities all over the county, and to let them know about the fact that we’re here that we’ve got this marvellous resource  that’s available for anyone to come and use. We’ve really built a relationship, if you like, with those groups and we’re very keen to ensure that that relation continues after the project funding ends.