In recognition of its ‘services to local history’, the county oral history group and publisher of In Our Age has been awarded this year’s prestigious King’s Award for Volunteers. The Palace announced the award on King Charles’ birthday, November 14.
Herefordshire Lore was founded in 1989 on a grant from Hereford City Council. Since then hundreds of people have shared their memories with the group’s volunteer researchers from WW1 veterans munitioneer Annie Slade and front line ambulance man and farmer Robert Bellamy to, more recently, school children taking part in the annual Young Historian Award competition.
The winning entry by a ten-year-old read: “In 1786 Thomas Allard was born in Worcester. At the age of 20 he buys a £10 ticket to Australia. In 1986 his great great great grandson was born in Australia (My Dad!)”
Marsha O’Mahony edits their quarterly journal, In Our Age: “Our volunteers don’t just collect history,” she explains, “we collect people’s memories of it. While national events appear in history books, everyday experiences don’t. And Herefordshire Lore’s volunteers aim to capture memories of workplaces, schooldays, shops, markets, farming, wartime, rivers, families and communities that would otherwise be forgotten.”
Edward Harley CBE is Lord-Lieutenant for Herefordshire: “For over 35 years the volunteers of Herefordshire Lore been ensuring that the memories and lived experiences of people within our community were not lost. They have been collected, archived and, most importantly, shared. Throughout, their work has remained rooted in person-to-person volunteering. I send my warmest congratulations to all those involved.”
The chair of Herefordshire Lore is Bill Laws: “The King’s Award is equivalent to an MBE for volunteers and is a welcome recognition of the unique contribution our volunteers have made to Herefordshire history.”