Home Front Recall Project

Following the successful bid for a grant under the Local Heritage Initiative programme the museum made a successful application for funding under the Big Lottery Home Front Recall programme.

The grant, of £20,000, allowed the museum to employ a professional cameraman to both record and edit on to DVD’s individual memories of experiences relating to HMS Ganges during the Second World War.

Contributors to the programme were found as far a part as Suffolk and Essex on the east coast to Cornwall in the southwest and Preston in the northwest. Bearing in mind that those recalling their experiences were recounting memories of some 60 plus years ago it was a great success. The various accounts were also remarkable, varying widely from the lady who was a local girl and found herself serving as a wren steward in the wardroom of HMS Ganges to a school master who joined HMS Ganges as an Ordinary Seaman and ended the war as the Commanding Officer of HMS Cotillion.

An additional benefit that has arisen from this project is that from the recordings, new information has become available, allowing further research into aspects of the history of HMS Ganges not previously recorded.

As time and finance permits a further project will be developed along these lines to include personal recollections of HMS Ganges not just from the Second World War but from all periods of HMS Ganges ashore.

Local Heritage Initiative Project

The museum has been successful in securing a Lottery grant from the Local Heritage Initiative to the value of £23,626. The funding is for the development of two aspects of the museum.

Firstly the grant has funded the purchase of computer equipment to allow the recording of our collection onto a specialist museum database that has within it a search facility. When complete, in October 2007, visitors will, with very limited information, be able to search the content of our collection, identify if it

contains the information they require and, if so, where within the collection the item can be found.

This aspect of the project is being developed in partnership with the Suffolk County Council Record Office and, when completed, will be made available online on the Record Office website.

Bearing in mind that all work at the museum is completed by volunteers this is an ambitious project but it is on track to be completed on time. When complete it will form the core for both the management of our collection and more importantly will provide the visitor with an outstanding research tool.

The second aspect of the project is the development, in partnership with two local school teachers, of an educational package relating to the history of HMS Ganges. This is now well under way and, when complete, will be made available to schools nationwide.