People invited to bring Second World War artefacts to Yorkshire library for online archive project

The campaign, named Their Finest Hour, is run by a team at the University of Oxford and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and hopes to collect and preserve the everyday stories and objects of the Second World War.

The first of two so-called “collection days” - where items will be recorded, digitised and uploaded to an online archive - took place at Todmorden library last week. Another will be held at Halifax Central library on Monday December 4 between 10.30am and 6pm.

People are invited to come along and share stories about wartime experiences and bring associated objects such as diaries, letters, medals, journals and ration books. In the interests of safety, people are asked not to bring any weapons, gas masks or potentially dangerous items.

Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, Cllr Jenny Lynn, said: “As one of the biggest conflicts in history, the Second World War had a major impact on people across the country and the world.

“So many of us have war-related stories and objects that have been passed down to us from our parents, grandparents and other family members. It’s so important that we can capture local accounts from this significant period of history, so the memories are preserved for future generations.

Dr Stuart Lee, project leader, Their Finest Hour, added: “We’re delighted to be able to create an archive of memories of the Second World War. We know from previous projects that people have so many wonderful objects, photos, and anecdotes which have been passed down from family members which are at risk of getting lost or being forgotten. Our aim is to empower local communities to digitally preserve these stories and objects before they are lost to posterity.”

The project team is especially interested in collecting contributions from people from underrepresented backgrounds in order to increase the diversity of people benefiting from Second World War heritage.