BBC Upload Series

For the final episode in their series, the Digital Interns at Bodmin Keep and the Museum of Cornish Life are speaking on the fighting men who were based in Cornwall during the war; both the Home Guard -  the men who would have defended us from an enemy invasion, as well as the U.S Army - the men who came to Cornwall to prepare for the invasion of Normandy to liberate the continent of Europe from Nazi oppression.

In this episode, the Digital Interns at Bodmin Keep and the Museum of Cornish Life are speaking on the role of women during the Second World War. They offer two diverse perspectives on the topic; discussing the story of Beatrice Frederika Rathbone, an esteemed American-born British politician and former Conservative Member of Parliament for Bodmin during 1941-1945, as well as the role of the Women's Land Army during the conflict. 

In this episode, the Digital Interns at Bodmin Keep and the Museum of Cornish Life are speaking on the theme of Prisoners of War. They offer two diverse perspectives on the topic; discussing the experiences of enemy Prisoners of War, held here in Cornwall as well as the story of Gerald Cecil Williams; British Army Officer, held as a Prisoner of War overseas from 1941-1945. First captured in North Africa in late 1941, Gerald moved through multiple camps in Italy, Czechoslovakia and finally Germany, where he narrowly escaped death when his camp was bombed by the US Air Force.

In this episode, the Digital Interns at Bodmin Keep and the Museum of Cornish Life share the story of how the wheel of a German aircraft came to be a part of Helston's Flora Day Clock and the story of Edith Doreen Kearney; a young lady from Chulmleigh, Devon, who trained as a nurse at Bodmin’s St Lawrence’s hospital during the war and met her American husband Frank whilst in the town.

In this episode, the Digital Interns at Bodmin Keep and the Museum of Cornish Life share the military story of Major Arthur Frederick Cotton Kitchen (Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry) and the story of Mary Beazley, who spent part of her teenage years in Cornwall during the Second World War.

In this episode, the Digital Interns at Bodmin Keep and the Museum of Cornish Life share their recent findings of Bodmin Nurse, Olive Barnicoat and the story of an Italian child evacuee.

We are delighted to be working in partnership with Helston's Museum of Cornish Life, throughout 2021 on a national project developed by the Imperial War Museum (IWM). This project will see both museums delivering a range of projects that uncover lesser-known stories about Cornwall during the Second World War. This short Promo outlines the Digital Interns forthcoming upload series 'WW2 - A Cornish Story' featured on Evenings on BBC Radio Cornwall presented by Tiffany Truscott, first aired on Wednesday 3rd February 2021.