Quotation Station ; Jane Addams on Patriotism

Unless our conception of patriotism is progressive, it cannot hope to embody the real affection and the real interest of the nation.

Jane Addams

When I selected a group of quotes for future use, I had no particular thought of using them in a topical way at all, and it is purely co-incidence that this one was next on the list so quickly after H M The Queen`s Diamond Jubilee.

By the same token, I had no intention of adding any comment of my own, but planned to let them stand alone for others to interpret as they see fit.

On this one occasion, I`m going to make an exception to that rule. It`s no secret that the Queen wanted the recent jubilee to be used to promote the Commonwealth (The Commonwealth of Nations), of which she is the Head.

Slightly belatedly,  I`m going to make my own contribution to that by highlighting the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

As the name implies, the CWGC commemorates the 1,700,000 men and women of the Commonwealth forces who fell during the two world wars.

I think it`s perfectly proper that they should be commemorated, but the point I`d like to make is that, certainly for World War Two, there was no conscription in the Commonwealth, all the Commonwealth forces were volunteers. 

Anyway, I like to keep these things short so without more ado, I shall just point out that the CWGC can be found at ;

www.cwgc.org

Footnote

I have previously posted items concerned with the Commonwealth both on this blog and at the Webdub blog. As it`s turned out, the ones posted on this blog have not been widely read whereas the others have done OK, so in future I`ll be confining any Commonwealth material to the other blog, which can be found at http://webdub.blogspot.com .



  

Caruth Calls Cuts into Question ; An Archaeologist Unearthed

"With local government having to make swingeing cuts across the board...it can be hard to see why anyone except archaeologists should worry about cuts to local government archaeology services. However anyone with an interest in our history should be concerned about the long-term impact of these cuts."

To learn more, see the rest of this article ;

Jo Caruth - Why Local Government Cuts to Archaeology Matter to All of Us, 4 June 2012 at www.historyworkshop.org.uk .

Jo Caruth writes as a representative of Rescue - The British Archaeological Trust, in part to promote their Fighting Back campaign. She makes her case well, though I must admit that the role of the local government archaeologist is unfamiliar territory to me - prior to reading her article I was unaware that such a post even existed !

Given that Leicester County Council have recently made a Community Archaeologist redundant, one wonders whether it might be viable for neighbouring local authorities (in this case, say Leics, Notts and Derby) to pool resources and co-finance a sort of tri-county archaeology service. However, I don`t claim to any special wisdom on the subject.

Certainly it`s right that these sort of matters should be the subject of democratic debate, so I hope that Ms Caruth`s article is widely disseminated amongst interested parties.

Useful links 

Rescue/BAT ; www.rescue-archaeology.org.uk

All Party Parliamentary Group on Archaeology ; www.appag.org.uk

Return of the Lumberjills

The Women's Timber Corps existed during World War Two and was an offshoot of the Land Army.

It consisted of female lumberjacks (known jokingly as `lumberjills`) who carried out forestry work, filling in for the young men who were away in the armed forces.

The timber was used for pit props, aircraft manufacture etc.

The WTC are seen as one of the last unrecognised stories of World War Two, and in my personal opinion, theirs is a story that deserves to be more widely known. It`s worth remembering that the work was far more labour intensive in those days - there were no chainsaws and trees could only be felled with a saw or an axe.

The Forestry Commission is gathering information on the `lumberjills` and is currently keen to hear from anyone who served in the WTC in the North Yorkshire woods, or from family members of anyone who did so.

The WTC were active in a number of wooded areas in North Yorks, particularly Dalby and Cropton (near Pickering), and Boltby and Kilburn (near Thirsk and Helmsley).

The current appeal for information and contacts follows on from a similar project earlier this year concerning WTC activities at Chopwell Wood, near Gateshead.

Details of the current appeal are contained in Forestry Commission  Press Release number 15486, dated 7 June 2012. The contact point for members of the public is Petra Young, while media enquiries should be addressed to Richard Darn.

Useful links ;

The Forestry Commission  www.forestry.gov.uk

Women`s Timber Corp (tribute site) www.womenstimbercorps.com

Although the current appeal relates specifically to N Yorks, the impression I have is that they would be happy to hear from anyone with information etc concerning wartime WTC activities.

Enlightened Self-Interest

In a spirit of enlightened self-interet, perhaps I could take this opportunity to mention that the Hoonaloon Books newsletter for June  is now online and can be viewed at http://hoonaloon.blogspot.com.

Star Saves Heritage

Doncaster newspaper The Star is part-way through an impressive Save our Heritage campaign, aimed (as you might imagine) at preserving that city`s architectural and industrial heritage. The campaign works in partnership with Mayor Peter Davies and others.

Buildings featured in the campaign so far include the Grand Theatre, St James` Baths, St George`s Minster and the empty High School for Girls building.

Inevitably there have been some setbacks and some questions of practicality - doubts have been raised about the viability of converting the High School for Girls building into a hotel, for instance. Nevertheless, handled correctly this project could combine preservation and regeneration in a very positive way.

A number of articles from the paper may be of interest, and here are a few ;

Minster Repairs Need Millions - 8 Feb 2012

Saving our Historic Baths (reader`s letter) - 9 Feb 2012

Industrial Heritage Saved by Lotto Cash - 19 March 2012

Save our Heritage (reader`s letter) - 10 April 2012

Doncaster Grand Theatre Talks Stall - 28 May 2012

For more details, click here ;

www.thestar.co.uk

Matlock Bath Grand Pavilion

For some time now, this blog has carried links to the sites of  campaigns connected to Matlock Bath Grand Pavilion, a purpose-built theatre dating from 1910.

The lower part of this building is occupied by the Peak District Mining Museum and some council offices. For a time (1993 - 2008), the upper part was used as a night club and I understand that the proprietors did little towards the upkeep of that part of the building.

Following the closure of the night club, the upper part of the building stood empty for a while and it would seem the owners, one of the local authorities, did no preventive maintenance but only responded to situations as they arose.

Eventually, a group of local people formed Save the Grand Pavilion, a campaign which I assume is self-explanatory. Admirable though that was, it was just the start as STGP evolved into The Grand Pavilion Limited, which acquired the lease on the building and then became a registered charity.

Following on came the formation of a supporter`s group, Friends of the Grand Pavilion and I understand that approaches have been made to potential large donors such as the Lottery.

Having followed these events with interest, I was glad to have the chance to see inside the  building over the Bank Holiday when it was opened to host an art exhibition with live music.

The art exhibition featured a range of styles, with the best known artist being Pollyanna Pickering, one of the Patrons of the charity, though I personally preferred Caroline Appleyard`s colourful evocations of Matlock and Whitby. There may be a touch of bias on my part as these are two places I visit frequently and which are very close to my heart. However, the quirky good  humour of her work is very appealing.

There was also much innocent amusement to be derived from the examples of "artist speak" in the accompanying brochure. Funnily enough I`ve never really thought in terms of "dystrophic brutalism" myself !

An unexpected bonus came in the form of live music from youthful folk musicians The Harker Sisters. As you might imagine, these are three sisters whose surname is Harker. They look terrifyingly young, but perhaps that`s because I am not so young ! As I`ve mentioned before, I am not a huge folk fan by any means, but these tuneful siblings impressed me very much. The younger members of our party were also enthusiastic, so if the Harkers ever decide to play for an audience of under fives, they might well have that market cracked !

Back to more serious matters, and I have to say I was shocked to see how much needs to be done to get the Pavilion back into a serviceable condition. However, it`s clear  that the Pavilion`s supporters have determination by the bucket-load and don`t shrink from a challenge.

To learn more about the Pavilion and the campaign to restore it, use the links already provided at the side of this page, or visit the websites of the Theatre`s Trust (www.theatrestrust.org.uk) and/or the Matlock Mercury (www.matlockmercury.co.uk) .

I`d like to close with a quote from another of the Pavilion Group`s Patrons, Simon Groom, a TV presenter who, if you`re anything like me,  may be inextricably linked in your mind with sticky-backed plastic and old Palmolive bottles ;

"As a young son of a Derbyshire hill farmer, the Pavilion was a window to the world outside Dethick. It helped me to enter that world and shape it in some small way. Seeing the building re-open and begin to be used again gives me hope. I feel sure that the larger project, for it`s restoration and re-opening, will not be more than a few years away. With that completed, the window to the outside world will be re-opened and inspire others, as it did for me."

One Coast for All ; Campaign for the English Coastal Path

Natural England has announced it`s intentions regarding the proposed English Coastal Path.

I`ve covered the background to this some time ago (see `Don`t Cut the Coastal Path - Claim the Coast`, this blog, Sat 2 Oct 2010), which is handy as it means I don`t have to go over it again !

The current plan aims to ensure that you can walk the coastline from Hull to Dorset via Hadrian`s Wall Path and the Welsh Coast (Does this make sense ? Geography was never my strong point.) by 2017.

Public consultations are underway in Cumbria, Durham Sunderland and Hartlepool concerning proposals for the path in those areas.

The first stretch of the path (near Weymouth) is expected to open during July.

This progress has led an emboldened Ramblers to relaunch it`s Coastal Path campaign under a new name ; `One Coast for All - the Campaign for the English Coastal Path`, with an accompanying petition in support of the path. 

For more information, visit www.ramblers.org.uk and/or www.walkmag.co.uk . Requests for more information can be e-mailed to the Ramblers Campaign Team on ecampaigning@ramblers.org.uk .