Museum trust invites Telford’s Caribbean community to share their stories
On Thursday, 3 April, the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, in partnership with Telford & Wrekin Council, will host a drop-in event at Leegomery Community Centre where the local Caribbean community will be invited to share their stories of life in Telford.
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The trust is asking members of the Telford Caribbean community who came to the new town between the 1940s and 1980s, known as the Windrush generation, to bring original documents that are part of their personal story to the event. The trust’s staff will be there to scan and log the documents so that they can be presented on ‘Back A Yard’ boards. The event has been organised in partnership with Rob Wilson, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Telford & Wrekin Council.
Back a Yard is a West Midlands-wide initiative developed and led by Doctor Tony Talburt and Doctor Pedro Cravinho at Birmingham City University. The aim of the initiative is to create a unique historic collection of personal documentary material related to Caribbean migrants from across the West Midlands. Documents such as letters, photos, boarding passes, payslips and passports will help tell the story of the community’s experiences and contributions.
The trust, a heritage conservation and education charity, is currently the only organisation in Telford and Wrekin working with Doctor Tony Talburt and Doctor Cravinho to represent the Caribbean community in Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire and the surrounding areas. This archive will be housed in the trust’s collections and will serve as a valuable resource for future generations and researchers.
Andrea Nelson, Community Engagement and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, said: “We are delighted to be working with Doctor Tony Talburt and Doctor Pedro Cravinho on expanding the Back A Yard initiative to Telford, Shropshire and the surrounding areas. There is a large Caribbean community in Telford, all with stories to tell of their life in the town, and we can’t wait to hear them.”
Nick Booth, Collections and Learning Director at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, said: “As a museum our main purpose is to collect, preserve and interpret stories, artefacts and objects which capture the history of our area and to provide a space where stories can be told, shared and studied. This event is an opportunity to share the under-explored story of the local Caribbean community.”
Members of Telford’s Caribbean community who would like to share their stories and personal documents with the Trust for the ‘Back a Yard’ boards are invited to come to Leegomery Community Centre between 2pm and 5pm on Thursday, 3 April.
