HERITAGE ACTIViTY IN BILLERICAY ESSEX

Lots happening in the county.  I've just joined Twitter - and am  inundated with tweets.  Mistake maybe?  An awful lot of activity.   Anyway, our little team is looking forward to meeting many more folk who want to contribute their memories, photographs, memorabilia to the  http://www.billericayhistory.org.uk/ website to which many local history enthusiasts are contributing.  Come and meet us on Monday, 31 October  at Billericay Library from 10.00am-3pm when we will be delighted to record your memories and copy your precious photographs and anything else you think may be of interest to us as a 'Heritage Group."  Picture above shows some of our team when they met at the Essex Record Office earlier in the year.   See you on Monday.

ARCHIVE WORK PROGRESSES

The Billericay Archive Heritage group continues into its second year, courtesy of the Essex Record Office and Heritage Lottery Fund.  Hundreds from around the world  have shown interest in our history.  Our website http://www.billericayhistory.org.uk/ carries stories of people with an interest in the town.  Also, there are some wonderful films of fifty years ago provided by Ian Rough who currently lives in France.

Sadly, today was the funeral of Jack Bartlett, aged 96 (pictured above on his 90th birthday) and the group of post office workers taken in the 1950s. Jack was one of our very special people whom you will see on the Billericay history site with his wife on their wedding day in 1941. Jack was a lovely friend who enjoyed appearing in my articles and books over the last ten years.  We will miss him.

FURTHER ADDITIONS TO THE BILLERICAY ARCHIVE SITE

Following the National Council on Archives' gathering at UCL last week, the six towns in this part of Essex are adding more material to their individual archive websites. See the Billericay contingent at www.billericayhistory.org.uk. Below is a line-up of some of our local interviewers pictured at the Essex Record Office in April.  

We have below, too, some film footage taken in Billericay in the summer of 1962 showing citizens going about their business, shopping, having fun in Lake Meadows, taking part in the Carnival and many clips of a life that was very much more leisurely.

A huge thank you to  Ian Rough who supplied this film footage and so much more.  Ian became a professional photographer and top advertising executive in later years.  He now lives in France, but keeps an eye on us from time to time.