The Heritage Buddy

I am proud to share that I have completed and delivered my first EVER living history workshop outside of my autism group as a session lasting at least 20 minutes (which again, I would like to bring these workshops to the younger age groups as part of their programme) or a brief 10-15 minute festival act.  It all started as a new year's goal!  Finding opportunities to deliver living history and costumed interpretation workshops in communities was one of my top aspirations for this year; the idea hit me last year after visiting Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and meeting a costumed interpreter acting as Jackie Fisher (father of the Dreadnoughts and known for the first use of OMG) when he served on HMS Warrior as Lieutenant, then meeting the volunteers at the Mary Rose Museum who were in period costume, then the inspiration hit me -  how about I bring costumed interpretation and living history into my volunteering? I was lucky to have the honour of providing some wartime e...

Kent is a county FULL of history; from the Roman Villa at Lullingstone, to Medieval christian pilgrimage routes to Rochester or Canterbury, to hop farming county-wide and brewing ale to the spitfires dogfighting the Luftwaffe in the skies above.  Whilst volunteering remotely for the Imperial War Museum's War Memorial Register, I learnt about a hidden treasure in Sevenoaks that I had to go and see for myself.  Cornwall Hall Auxiliary Hospital Cornwall Hall was an VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) Hospital set up in September 1914, which were located anywhere, including local churches, schools and community settings.  The ex-VAD hospital was located at The Drive Methodist Church in Sevenoaks; if you cross the car park to the left of the church building, there is the church hall, which is still named Cornwall Hall (pictured below). It was managed by nurse Kathleen Mansfield, Commandant of the VAD 76 Hospital.  A brass tablet is mounted up on the wall on the right as you co...

 You may have heard of Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and South Park's Mr Hanky, now get ready for... Squiffy the Christmas Spitfire! I bought this spitfire plush decoration from Imperial War Museum for the Christmas tree, whilst decorating it, I flew it around and knew I had to name it. The name Squiffy came from the Monty Python RAF Pilot sketch, as this word is suited well when pronounced by a stereotypical RAF pilot!  Happy Christmas! 🎄  Do you have a special character you associate with Christmas or what is your favourite holiday activity? Please share it with me!  I would love to wish all my friends, family, colleagues and fellow living historians/reenactors/costumed interpreters a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2026! 

It's a big year for Trafalgar Day - 2025 marks 220 years since this epic moment in naval history. You’re probably wondering: what does HMS Belfast have to do with Trafalgar Day? The straight answer is, there is no direct connection between her and HMS Victory, which despite being a museum ship (which is what they have in common) in Lord Nelson’s memory and being permanently dry docked, is still in commission with the Royal Navy for over 200 years. 21st October 1805 The Royal Navy, commanded by Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson aboard his flagship, HMS Victory, literally broke the mighty line made up of the combined fleet of the French and Spanish navies. This was the Royal Navy’s greatest achievement in history, but sadly as King George III claimed, we had lost more than we had gained; although a great victory had been won, the story includes the tragic loss of Lord Nelson, after being shot by a French sniper. 21st October is a special occasion for the Royal Navy because that day, i...

 6th June 2024 - 80th Anniversary of D-Day Did you know that HMS Belfast was involved with the D-Day landings off the Normandy Coast? The Town-class light cruiser was one of the first ships to open fire as early as 05:27am on 6th June 1944.  It had been quite a long time since I supported some conservation-based family activities on board the Belfast and met up with the volunteer leader to learn about the visitor experience side of volunteering 2 weeks prior. 2024 was a big year for  Queen B  (as I affectionately call her -  not  to be confused with Beyonce), because it marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings. I was kindly invited to the gun salute to commemorate the historic event and the ship's involvement.  As a 'homecoming' volunteer, I fantasised me and Frankenstein (the ship’s cat) being 'piped aboard' (where the boatswain or an officer will blow 'pipes' on a call when a VIP visits a ship - a call is like a whistle or flute used to give ...

Happy Volunteers Week 2025! It is volunteers week this week and can only mean one thing... a huge celebration of volunteering in lots of different sectors and celebrating the work of volunteers themselves. It is not just charities, children's services, care homes and animal rescue centres where people volunteer, it also includes museums, arts and culture. I first started volunteering as a poppy collector with the Royal British Legion which was a heartwarming experience and considering going back when the time comes as I have done some individual fundraising for them since. I am proud to share I have been involved with museums for 8 years which has been such an incredible journey. I'll start by sharing where it all began: my autism group set up a work experience project with the Museum of London in their archives and collections. The title itself is self explanatory; the Museum of London explores the history of London from the Roman settlements in Britain (whereby London was kno...

Today marks 85 years since the start of the Dunkirk evacuation! A group of restored ‘little ships’ escorted by the Royal Navy from Ramsgate have been reenacting the historic event by making the exact same journey. As well as having the Royal Navy involved with this rescue mission from the German advancement into France known as Operation Dynamo, ‘Little Ships’ were civilian vessels ranging from fishing trawlers to lifeboats to leisure yachts. Speaking of ‘little ships’, let me introduce you to a special someone: Meet Tamzine! She’s a little fishing boat built in Margate in 1937 and worked off the coast of Birchington that was involved in the Dunkirk evacuations. She was known as a local hero after being towed back from Dunkirk by a Belgian fishing boat and having a recognisable Viking-like stem, local boatmen took her back to her owner covered in blood, but luckily undamaged. Unfortunately for some ‘Little Ships’, some suffered shrapnel damage or were pierced by bullets. When I first s...