Bury remembers the First World War with Heritage Lottery Fund support

The Centre for Cultural Collections (CfCC), formerly Bury Archives and Family History Service, has received £60,800 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for an exciting project called Bury Remembers the First World War.

Led by CfCC staff and volunteers from the local community, the project focuses on the extensive historical content held within several local newspapers which were printed during the war.

The project will involve extracting poetry, local stories, photographs, servicemen’s obituaries and other local information which will be used to produce various publications and an online database. The newspapers for 1914-1919 no longer exist as hard copies and are not currently available online, which means that the work of this project will provide unique access to a wealth of local history for the first time.

There will be many opportunities for volunteers to become involved as well as online resources, exhibitions, publications and events for children and adults which will use this fascinating and previously neglected newspaper content. Local people, schoolchildren, family historians, academic researchers and a worldwide audience will be able to access the history of the people of Bury as they lived and died from 1914 to 1919 as told in the words of local reporters, residents and soldiers.

The Centre for Cultural Collections works very closely with the local community and volunteers. This project will enable them to gain a deeper insight into the work of the centre and develop new skills along the way.

Commenting on the award, borough archivist Gilli Paxton said: “We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and are confident that the project will help people of all ages from Bury and surrounding areas to discover and get an unseen insight into what life was like both at home and overseas during the First World War.”

Explaining the importance of the HLF support, the head of the HLF in the North West, Sara Hilton, said: “The First World War touched every corner of the UK and beyond and was a defining moment in 20^th Century history. Opening up these currently hidden archives, and making them available to all, will create a dynamic digital legacy that future generations can look back on. It’s so important that these local stories, like those from Bury, are not forgotten and this project will help make sure that that doesn’t happen.”

  
• Volunteers across Bury are being asked for come forward and help the Centre for Cultural Collections run this historic project. If you can help, please call 0161 253 6782 or email culture@bury.gov.uk

ENDS 

Press release issued: 14 November 2014.

Picture: At the cheque presentation, held on Armistice Day, are (from left) Mark Carriline, executive director of children’s services; Elizabeth Binns, head of libraries; Sarah Howell, assistant librarian; Gina Warburton, visitor assistant; Gilli Paxton, borough archivist; Ian Chambers, assistant director (learning); and (back) Nicola Walshaw, archives assistant; and Adam Carter, reference librarian.

Note to editors:

About the Centre for Cultural Collections

The Centre for Cultural Collections is the new name for Bury Archives Service and Bury Local and Family History Service. Our new title reflects the amalgamation of both services and positions us firmly within the thriving and dynamic cultural quarter of Bury’s town centre.

The renaming coincides with plans to redevelop our material into ‘special collections’ such as The Archives Collection, The Lancashire Collection, The Borough Collection and The Text Art Archive. We hope to complement these by creating new collections such as The Oral History Collection and The Genealogy/Pedigree Collection.

By amalgamating the various different collections currently held in both parts of the service we will be able to offer our customers a more comprehensive, intuitive and fulfilling visitor experience. Visitors can research their family history using our extensive collection of parish records, local newspaper archives and online resources as well as viewing unique and irreplaceable historical documents.

About the Heritage Lottery Fund

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) aims to make a lasting difference for heritage, people and communities across the UK and help build a resilient heritage economy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage. HLF has supported almost 36,000 projects with more than £6bn across the UK. www.hlf.org.uk

HLF has invested more than £60million to over 1000 projects across the UK marking the Centenary of the First World War.  Ithas committed at least £6million to 2019 to its First World War: then and now programme which is providing grants between £3,000 and £10,000 to local communities looking to explore and understand their First World War heritage.  Larger grants for First World War projects are also available through HLF’s open programmes www.hlf.org.uk/firstworldwar

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