Help bring history to life during Redditch Memories and Anniversaries Exhibition (From Redditch Advertiser)

Help bring history to life during Redditch Memories and Anniversaries Exhibition

12:10pm Friday 1st March 2013 in News

RESIDENTS are invited to a Memories and Anniversaries Exhibition on Saturday, March 16 from 10am-4pm at Redditch Library.

This will be a unique opportunity for people to share in three exciting projects.

Firstly, Redditch Local History Society (RLHS) will be displaying material collected as part of its “Remembering Lost Redditch” project and inviting residents in identifying photographs of Redditch before the new town was built.

Members will also be inviting exhibition visitors to record and leave their memories of the “Old Town” for publication as part on the 50th anniversary commemorations taking place in 2014.

Secondly, Palace Theatre staff and volunteers will be inviting visitors to remember 100 years of the theatre which is being celebrated this year.

Leading up to a month of celebrations in September the Palace Theatre project aims to capture memories, stories and anecdotes from residents who have attended the wide range of entertainment and functions held at the theatre over its 100 years.

Jestaminute Community Theatre c.i.c (JCT) will also be supporting the exhibition as part of its project “Engineering the Past” funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. This project, also part of the New Town 500 commemorations, is capturing oral histories and memories of Redditch Industry from 1939 to 1964.

Working with other local groups such as RLHS and the Trinity Schools pyramid, these memories will be shared through performance, exhibitions and pod-casting later in the year as a lasting memory of this important era for Redditch.

The March 16 exhibition at the library is open to all residents, who can visit at anytime and contribute if they wish. Members of all groups will be on hand to talk with visitors and explain their projects.

Derek Coombes from the RLHS says “Since we launched the Remembering Lost Redditch website in early February we have had around 2,000 hits and many calls and emails from residents expressing interest.

“We see this exhibition as the start of involving the wider community in the project so that we create a lasting archive of the old town.”

For more information call Derek Coombes (RLHS) on 01527 404365 or 07860 326582 or email derek.coombes@blueyonder.co.uk, Dave Wilkins (Palace Theatre) 01527 61544 or 07908 976681 or email bigdave.stories@yahoo.co.uk and Jan and Andy Higgett (JCT) on 01527 514 049 or email jestaminute@blueyonder.co.uk.

The Remembering Lost Redditch website can be found at www.redditchheritage.org.uk.