VISITORS to Bishampton will be invited to lend their support to the village’s First World War project as part of the national Heritage Open Day celebrations.
Members of Bishampton History Society will launch their new project tomorrow (Saturday) on the day which will also see a repeat of the Bishampton Heritage Trail introduced last year.
Bishampton History Society will be running their own 1914 style recruitment drive when ‘Bishampton Bertie’, their project mascot, will be accompanying ‘Nurse Cox’ in a tour of the village to invite local residents to join in the commemorative war
effort.
The Society was recently awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £10,000 following a bid inspired by the initial research work done about the enlisted men on the village’s war memorial. After restoration work, the memorial was rededicated last
year by the Bishop of Worcester, Dr John Inge.
St James’ Church will be filled with displays of local family histories, documents, First World War marriage records, and memorabilia about the village’s involvement in the war during the exhibition from 10am to 4pm.
Residents old and new are being invited to get involved and contribute any details of their own families’ stories of the period and society members will be on hand to record their accounts.
Families will be able to take part in the heritage trail around the village featuring some of the 17th century half-timbered buildings and other significant landmarks, with additional details this year about the location of some of the houses where the soldiers who served in the First World War lived. Society members will be leading two guided tours of the village at 11am and
2.30pm or visitors can choose to do a self-guided tour using the Society’s heritage trail leaflet.
Children will be able to take part in activities in the First World War Bell Tent which will be sited in the church grounds and include making paper poppies to commemorate the fallen; testing their knowledge in a quiz along the heritage trail route.
And between 1pm and 3pm, resident artist Kate Brookes will show how to make love tokens, similar to those made by convalescing soldiers to send to their families.
Admission is free as part of the 20th anniversary of the Heritage Open Day celebrations with free parking and light
refreshments available.
