Calling All Evacuees

Hereford’s Museum would like to hear from any who was evacuated to Herefordshire during the Second World War.

The museum would also like to hear from anyone who knows any evacuees as it is after memories for a new educational resource pack that it is developing for primary school teachers to use with their pupils.

It is also planned to use personal memories of evacuees and people who knew evacuees in the new Museum on the Move exhibition.

Siriol Collins, Learning Officer at the Museum, said: “We are interested in hearing from anyone who was evacuated to Herefordshire during the war as we would like to include their memories in our new resource pack for teachers and in a new exhibition for our Museum on the Move.

“In particular, we would love to know people’s impressions of coming to a rural place, what they experienced that was totally new to them, how they were welcomed and how they felt being a stranger in new place.”

Hereford Museum was awarded £8,000 from the Department for Education and Skills to develop six history resource packs on Digging up the Romans, A Victorian Country Classroom, Britain Since 1948, Tudor Hearth and Home, Toys and Evacuees.

Members of the museum staff are also developing a session called “A Traveller’s Life” which explores traditional traveller culture.

This session is being piloted throughout October and children will make a Gypsy bender (a simple dwelling made of hazel rods and a tarpaulin), make a fire, prepare food for the cooking pot, wash clothes using authentic traveller artefacts and hear a traditional Gypsy story.

“Our new Museum on the Move exhibition is about cultural diversity and we are exploring the emotions associated with ‘being different,” which is why we would like to hear from evacuees.

Anyone who would like to share their memories with the Learning team at Hereford Museum, should contact Siriol Collins, Heritage Learning Officer on (01432) 260692.