February Twitter Digest

Welcome to the Twitter Digest for February. This February was LBGT+ History month. You can read one family historian's discovery of her uncle's gender identity change in 1924. Our Local Studies holds several books about LGBT+ pioneer Edward Carpenter. Born in 1844, he was ahead of his time, being a campaigner for the environment, recycling, …

Food that’s “not bad for the front!”

Regular subscribers to our blog and Twitter will know that we like to link our posts to the monthly themes of the Explore Your Archive and History Begins At Home archive campaigns. For February the themes are ‘letters’ and ‘food', respectively. One letter in our collection which immediately sprung to my mind was one written …

Blackwell Red Cross Hospital

During the First World War, the Blackwell Colliery Company played a large role in helping the war effort, both at home and on the front. A quarter of men employed by the company, 1128 men, went off to fight in tunnelling corps, while others who didn’t fight contributed funds for the war effort. Around 116 …

The Gratitude of First World War Prisoners to Margery Swanwick of Chesterfield

A post from catalogue volunteer, Roger. The Record Office recently purchased several letters and postcards at an auction which illustrate aspects of humanitarian work during the First World War. Margery Eleanor Swanwick (1880-1959) a resident of Whittington, Chesterfield was active both in providing parcels of food and other comforts to Allied soldiers imprisoned in Germany, …

Routes to Derbyshire for refugees in the event of an invasion (1916)

This morning we received an enquiry from the School of Geography at the University of Nottingham asking about any further records we might hold relating to a map in their collection entitled Map Showing Routes for Refugees from Eastern Counties in case of Invasion, which was produced in January 1916 when the threat of an invasion …

Dronfield 1917 (in 2017)

Last night, while others spending an evening at school may have been watching the typical (or less typical) Christmas nativity, I was privileged to attend Stonelow Junior School to see the year 6 give a dramatic presentation for Dronfield 2017: Stories from the First World War. For the last 12 months, the pupils have been researching …

Stitching the Wars

Stitching the Wars was a two-year collaboration between older people in Derbyshire and arts organisation arthur+martha. It is the story of a community that survived two world wars and harsh poverty. It is a kind of documentary, constructed with recollection, poetry and the art of stitching. The project was led by artist Lois Blackburn, who …

Records and revelling at Ripley

At a loss to know what to do this weekend?  Why not join The Amazing Pop Up Archives team at the Ripley Music Festival on Saturday. We'll be 'popping up' with our wonderful yellow and purple tents  full of fascinating records relating to Ripley people and places.  Will you find your ancestors in the First …

Tea and Trench Cake this Saturday at Chesterfield Library!

Join us for the launch of our new travelling exhibition about Derbyshire's First World War, which begins its county tour at Chesterfield Library this Saturday, 10 December, 12-2pm. Interactive history actors will be bringing to life real characters from the period and for children there will be a family trail they can follow around the library.  As a bonus, there will be …

“Almost like a dream”…

This coming Friday, 1st July sees the 100th anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Somme.  The first day of which is acknowledged as the most devastating day in British army history, with nearly 60,000 British casualties on that day alone.  By the end of the battle, which raged until November 1916,  over 1 …