Archive of the Month

At the end of July 2021 the team at Bucks Archives said 'adieu' to colleague June Wailing, after 22 years of service.  A few weeks later, Katherine and June have a chat reflecting on her favourite documents, and her journey from moving boxes, to fully qualified Archivist.  

Approx 36 min.

In the 1988 Paralympics Robert Barrett won two bronze medals on the track.  But that is only a small fraction of the story that he shares with us over the course of our conversation.  We take in South Korean Moonshine, a cavernous basement belonging to a philanthropic CEO, the impact of Channel 4 on parasports, the use of a prosthetic limb in the initiation ceremonies of a rugby club, and a sitting volleyball revolution happen in the West County.  The best thing about this interview though, is the insight Robert gives us into what it's like to train for and compete in a Paralympic Games.  

You can find out more about Robert here: https://www.paralympicheritage.org.uk/robert-barrett

We would like to thank the National Paralympic Heritage Trust for their support with this podcast. 

To coincide with Volunteer Week this year, Archivist Katherine caught up with some long-serving Buckinghamshire Archives volunteers: Dick, Anne and Elizabeth via Zoom.  They talk about how they help out at the Archive, and why they keep on coming back.

Boots, Bottles and Blouses.  That's what this month's episode is about.  Or more specifically a photo Judi McGinley found in our collection depicting these items, amongst others, that were discovered during building works, hidden in a chimney breast in a pub in Oving.  What's going on?  Judi tells us more!  

More information about how to participate in Census 2021: https://census.gov.uk/about-the-census

Access to past Censuses via Ancestry, for Bucks Library Card Holders: https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/libraries/online-reference-resources/history-and-family-research/ 

Census related documents in Buckinghamshire Archives' collections:
To be updated

**17 Min**

For Dry January, we talk all things Tee-Total, Temperate and Alcohol-Free.  Lisa Edwards and Katherine Gwyn reflect on what the archive can tell us about our changing relationship with drink, starting with this photo of a very unusual pub.  

We cover Temperance Hotels, the Hartwell House Temperance Festivals, and Buckinghamshire's own alcohol-free hero: Stephen Shirley, who was closely connected to the Band of Hope movement.  

Different Temperance Organisations and Activities that feature in our archive collections:
Order of the Sons of Temperance, High Wycombe Division
North Temperance Hotel, Wendover
Church of England Temperance Society, Upper Winchendon Branch
Peace, Temperance and Bond of Universal Brotherhood Festivals at Hartwell
Temperance Hotel, Winslow
Royal Temperance Hotel, Westminster
Nontox Temperance Ale Manufacturing Company, Aylesbury
Temperance Hotel, Great Western Street, Aylesbury
National British Women's Total Abstinence Union, Princes Risborough
Aylesbury, Wycombe, and Castlethorpe Methodist Circuits
Chesham Temperance Hotel
Chenies Parish
Wendover Congregational Band of Hope
Wolverton Wesleyan Methodist Band of Hope
Castlethorpe Methodist Band of Hope
High Wycombe Congregational Band of Hope
Great Marlow Excelsior Band of Hope
Newport Pagnell Band of Hope

Contact us with questions, thoughts, or other feedback: archives@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

**7 Minute Listen**

This episode could also be titled "What happens when an Archivist tries to recreate a historic recipe for mince pies".  Spoiler: it did not go well.

We cover: Chequers, 18th Century recipe books, and a brief history of the humble mince pie.  Bon appetit! 

This is a photo of Alan Edwards and his little brother, taken at Haymill Camp, Slough, in 1948.  What does this photograph tell us about life in post-WW2 Slough?  Using this photograph as a starting place, Lisa Edwards (daughter of Alan), talks about her search through contemporary newspapers and local government records, done to contextualise Alan's memories of that time.  Lisa weaves a tale that takes in Slough Industrial Estate; injured veterans; squalid living conditions; squatters taking over former military camps; and the slow rebuilding of post-war Britain.  

Lisa Edwards has worked at Buckinghamshire Archives since 2008.  She is a historian with publication credits in Family Tree and History Workshop.