Morecambe’s D Day & VE Day memories project came about as a result of other similar oral History and exhibition projects conducted by Morecambe Heritage.
With occasional World War II VETs calling into the Heritage Centre, it made sense to try to capture local people’s personal experiences throughout the war to illustrate the range of roles that local people did.
Not just the Servicemen and women, that we may regard as heroes, but also the girls that worked on the land, in factories, or in hospitals, and in the auxiliary services. Or the Bevan Boys who worked down the mines, and all those many others who contributed to the war effort in their own unique way.
The project uses local young people to conduct the interviews, which are edited into short films, and displayed on YouTube; and also displayed here at the Heritage Centre as an exhibition which was opened by Mayor of Lancaster, Margaret Pattinson.
We hope you find the films and the exhibition, a fascinating and educational local insight into World War II as recalled by local people. And of course, if you know of anyone who has a story which fits this project, please let us know!
Morecambe’s D Day & VE Day Memories is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to Create these videos and our exhibition.
David Evans – Project co-ordinator
Historic England grant funded a project exploring the lives and stories of the landladies who ran boarding houses in Morecambe up until the 1980s, when it was a favourite holiday destination for working class families from Northern England and Scotland.
Famed for their no-nonsense reputation, gruff manner and strict rules and regulations, 20 people have been interviewed about their reflections on Morecambe Landladies over the decades, including ex-landladies themselves, family members and paying guests, whether holiday makers, students or workers.
Twelve filmed interviews. An exhibition at Morecambe Heritage Centre ran from July 2023 to December 2024 and attracted over 2,800 visitors. The interviews were mainly conducted by 12 local young people, making intergenerational learning an important part of the project.
The project will develop and run an exhibition celebrating the rich entertainment heritage of Morecambe.
Over the past 170 years entertainments in Morecambe grew from simple amusements in pub gardens or booths clustered near the newly arrived railway to the mass entertainments of music halls, theatres and pier pavilions. Popular entertainment was set alongside serious drama, opera and ballet while stars of radio and television and their audiences met face to face at the seaside. Morecambe also nurtured its home-grown talent ranging from local favourites to nationally known stars.
The exhibition ran for twelve months, was open to the public free of charge, and targeted community groups including schools, local unemployed, special interest groups, disabled and older people’s groups.
The two main elements to the exhibition were oral recollections of Morecambe’s entertainments presented as short videos for visitors to the centre, as well as remote viewers on social media.
And a showcase for the many visual archives which have been, and continue to be donated to Morecambe Heritage. The exhibition was therefore a combination of visual and oral recollection materials to provide a multi-media experience.
