BALH e-Newsletter
The DHS is a member of the British Association for Local History. They have recently published, for the first time, an e-newsletter and it’s full of links to talks and news. I have reproduced relevant parts of it here, but without the formatting colours and fonts of the original, unfortunately. I have put the links back in, however so I hope you find some of the items interesting. Thanks to the BALH for sending us all this information, it’s much appreciated in the current circumstances.
Welcome to the British Association for Local History’s new e-newsletter!
During these strange and challenging times, we hope every one of you is keeping safe and well.
With normal activity in the local history world on hold for the near future, we have decided to bring forward the first of our new e-newsletters, a feature we were intending to develop later this year, in order to keep in touch with our members, highlight recent developments and to help keep everyone informed and entertained during this unprecedented situation.
This newsletter is designed to work alongside our existing website and social media platforms and to highlight both our own activities and those of other bodies in the world of local history. Hopefully, this will give you a taste of what’s available, and we urge you to follow the links and explore the resources.
David Killingray, Chair of Trustees of BALH, has sent a message in response to the coronavirus crisis, reflecting on what materials will be available for future historians to use in writing the history of Covid-19, while Dr Gill Draper, BALH’s Development Officer, has a wealth of ideas for anyone looking for a new project to occupy their time.
Reading Early Handwriting 1500-1700
If you’re looking to brush up on your palaeography skills, BALH’s latest publication, Reading Early Handwriting 1500-1700 by Mark Forrest, is available via our on-line shop, alongside all our other titles. And don’t forget, BALH members receive a discount on all publications.
Ten Minute Talks
Do you have a subject you would like to share with a wider audience? Or a paper for a conference that has now been cancelled? Then we would love to put it up on our website for everyone to see. For more details and instructions, click here.
The Local Historian – Paywall Suspended
The Local Historian is one of BALH’s two quarterly journals, containing a range of scholarly articles and features on local history issues. BALH has decided to remove the paywall on recent editions until the autumn, to allow full access to the journal while libraries and other facilities are closed.
And don’t forget, all issues of Local History News, BALH’s members’ magazine, are also available on the website as usual.
Living the Poor Life – A Talk by Dr Gill Draper
With so many events cancelled or postponed, we are inviting people who were due to give talks to put them up onto our website, so that they can still be enjoyed. In the first of these, our own Development Officer, Dr Gill Draper, presents a paper scheduled for this year’s Family Tree Live, examining records associated with the poorhouses. This, along with links to various other presentations, is available here.
BALH/HA Local History Teacher Fellowship
This autumn BALH, in partnership with the Historical Association, will be running a Teacher Fellowship Programme focused on developing the teaching of local history at primary and secondary schools. For more details, click here.
Useful Online Resources
A selection of websites to keep everyone busy!
ReadMe – a tool for reading pre-modern handwriting
http://straylight.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk/readme/
Community Archives & Heritage Group (CAHG) – a central online resource of advice and guidance for the collection, care, preservation and enjoyment of community archives
https://www.communityarchives.org.uk/resources
Royal Museums Greenwich and The National Archives – get involved in a virtual volunteer project
https://royalnavyrecordsww1.rmg.co.uk/
Watch 85,000 British Pathé films
www.britishpathe.com
More material is being added to our website all the time, so check back regularly!
The BALH team