People from across Dorset are being asked to bring diaries, letters, photographs, memoirs, objects, or stories about their family’s experience in the war. On Saturday 19 August 2023, between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm, volunteers will be on hand to record, photograph and add these stories to the national online archive. Visitors who bring stories and objects to the event, quoting Their Finest Hour, will also gain free access to the Museum.
The Royal Signals Museum’s Head of Storytelling, Ryan Ellis, said:
“At our interactive galleries near Blandford, as well as via our free digital guide on the Bloomberg Connects app, the Royal Signals Museum details the extraordinary stories of Royal Signals soldiers who have pushed personal and technological boundaries for over a century.
“In collaborating with Their Finest Hour, the Royal Signals Museum continues to promote understanding of the wartime experiences that shaped our history. I encourage local residents to seize this exciting opportunity to contribute local stories from diaries, letters, journals and ration books to this innovative digital archive.”
Project leader for Their Finest Hour, Dr Stuart Lee, said:
“We’re delighted to be able to create an archive of memories of the Second World War. We know from previous projects that people have so many wonderful objects, photos, and anecdotes which have been passed down from family members which are at risk of getting lost or being forgotten. Our aim is to empower local communities to digitally preserve these stories and objects before they are lost to posterity.”
For questions about the event, as well as to confirm your attendance, please email storyteller@royalsignalsmuseum.co.uk. For more information about the national project, please visit the project website: theirfinesthour.org
The Royal Signals Museum is located on Blandford Camp. Visitors can drive an armoured vehicle through a virtual landscape, direction find the enemy, set up a satellite network and practice Morse code. Valid photographic ID is required by all adult visitors aged sixteen or over.
ENDS
Photo: The Colonel in Chief visits 3rd Divisional Signals at Blandford in November 1940. Previously commanded by General Montgomery, the 3rd Division concentrated in the South West as part of 5 Corps and the Divisional Signals moved to Blandford Forum in November 1940. (Reproduced with permission of the Royal Signals Museum.)
