Oral Histories – Air Raids, Anderson Shelters and Evacuation
Oral Histories - Air Raids, Anderson Shelters and Evacuation
Since SOFO began we haven't just collected objects and records. Volunteers have helped us record the memories of Oxfordshire people affected by historic conflicts in the form of recorded oral history interviews. You can hear some of these in use in the museum's galleries when you visit (such as in our Liberation of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, Airpower and D-Day displays), and you can hear many others from WW2 veterans on this very website too.
A number of supporters of our new Crowdfunding project -building a life-size Anderson Shelter display inside the museum- have been sharing their own wartime memories of taking shelter during air raids. Because of this, we thought we'd share some of the Home Front oral histories that've been tucked away in the archive. Some of these recordings were used for our Children & War exhibition, and some of the indviduals interviewed also participated in local school workshops where students talked to them about their childhood experiences of The Blitz. If fully funded, we hope the Anderson Shelter will help both regular visitors and school trips engage with this part of our Second World War history in the same way.
We've recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to build a full-size Anderson Shelter that visitors can walk through to immerse themselves in Second World War Home Front history - and can to be used for school workshops too. You can find out more about the project, donate, and get rewards here. Some of our supporters have already been sharing their own memories of air raid shelters living through the Blitz on the Crowdfunder page.
February’s Object of the Month follows a Valentine’s Day theme! Volunteer Geraldine has selected a First World War pin cushion, shaped like a heart, it has quite a story behind it! Sweetheart Pin Cushion By Geraldine Howell Object photography by Colin Morris This sweetheart pin cushion was made during the First World War by a member of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Sweetheart cushions were not unknown before…
Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum was recently approached by historian Feutry Bernard about a memorial to Allied airmen who were killed during the Second World War in the Avesnois region of France, which was recently unveilled in the village of Boussières sur Sambre. Of the 116 named on the memorial, 69 are British, with one Flight Lieutenant known to have hailed from Leafield in Oxfordshire. Paul Geoffrey Chapman flew with No.…
