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Forest
of Dean Local History Society members met in
Coleford Community Centre on Saturday 22nd
August for a presentation about an exciting new
project the society plans to take forward,
working with the Dean Heritage Museum and other
interested parties. The
Society aims to capture memories and experiences
of Forest people of the significant changes that
have happened in our area over the past 50 years
or so.
Ron Beard,
Chairman, warmly welcomed the large number of
members who had turned out for this special
meeting. John Precious, project co-ordinator,
explained that he wanted to understand how the
Forest area has developed since the demise of
mining and other heavy industries. Mary
Sullivan, a recent committee member, then gave a
presentation interleaving past and present
photos of local sites with ideas about how the
project can link the more recent past with the
present and produce a living recent history of
the Forest.
There are many areas of potential study of
interest to all Foresters, old and new,
including:
· Changes
in employment patterns
since the last large mine closed in 1965.
· Changes to travel, shopping and leisure patterns
· Changes to population and lifestyle including
how new people have moved into the Forest and
whether this has changed Forest communities.
Mary asked
all Society members to get involved in areas
they were most interested in and in whatever
ways they felt comfortable. Some might gather
friends and neighbours together to talk about
their memories, some will collect up old photos
of places that have changed or go back to old
newspaper cuttings.
Committee members hope to interview and record
memories of people who have stories that they
would like to be preserved. Eventually, the
project should lead to presentations, articles
and maybe a book or DVD.
If members or
non-members would like to get involved in the
project in any way or contribute memories or
photos please
download, print and complete the enclosed
form and return it to:
John
Precious, 8 Greenways, Lydney, GL15 5HY
or
contact John by phone or email:
Phone: 01594 843646
Email:
john.greenways@tiscali.co.uk
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