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...

 ​ As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives, Each wife had seven sacks, Each sack had seven cats, Each cat had seven kits: Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, How many were there going to St. Ives?  -Anon.  Looking through the War Memorial Register as a volunteer for the Imperial War Museums, I noticed a glazed and framed Roll of Honour on the system housed at St Ives Museum. I have been to St Ives before and walked past the museum a good few times, but never went in.  Under 16’s go free and it’s £5 per person over 16. A volunteer very kindly introduced me to the museum’s collection 

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...

The coastal village of Gwithian in Cornwall, situated in St Ives Bay, is home to the iconic Godrevy Lighthouse, National Trust site of Godrevy Farm and home to a number of places for food and drink, including Sunset Surf and The Jam Pot Cafe. A short walk along St Gothian Sands behind Gwithian Beach takes you to the residential village, where there’s a camping and caravan site and a pub, the Red River Inn. Only next door to the Red River Inn is St Gothian’s Church (also known as Gwithian Church) which works closely with St Elwyn’s in Hayle. The church is open for visitors every day, as well as offering Sunday church services. I came to visit some war memorials whereby there’s three at the church; one tablet outside in the porch and the other two are inside as a painting with a roll of honour and a stained glass window, including five Commonwealth War Graves in the graveyard. St Gothian’s Church is your typical small village church that’s very small and cute, carrying cottagecore vibes....

 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...