“The beginning of WW2 will be commemorated by a display of artefacts in the museum:
From 4th September to 23rd November 2019”.
Purton Museum will be closing for the winter on Saturday 23rd November 2019 and will re-open on Saturday 28th March, 2020 with a “Purton Cricket Club Exhibition”, an exhibition not to be missed.
FUTURE MEETINGS
Thursday 26th September 2019 @ 7.30 pm in Purton Village Hall
The loss of the Titanic and a Wiltshire family – mysteries and myths:
Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Carr.
Over one hundred years since she sank on her maiden voyage, RMS TITANIC continues to intrigue and fascinate us. Yet many of the stories about the ship contain errors and speculation that do not do justice to the ship’s design, and few combine the technical aspects with the social history of a family that actually took passage in the ship.
The lecture, ‘The Loss of the TITANIC and a Wiltshire Family – Some Mysteries and Myths’ formed the highlight of Melksham History Society’s 2008-09 programme, and has since been presented to over one hundred organisations in locations from Plymouth to Thurso, and from Gloucester to Reading, where it has been well attended and received. The illustrated talk intertwines the lives of a family from Melksham in Wiltshire with the technical detail of one of the worst shipping disasters in history.
It lasts 45 minutes and includes a subsequent question & answer period, as required.
Thursday 24th October 2019 @ 7.30 pm in Purton Village Hall
Paul Barnett – Disaster waiting - The Severn Bridge Disaster
In line with commemorative activities to remember the 50th anniversary of the structures’ demise - Disaster Waiting gives a comprehensive overview of the bridges construction, its daily operation, and eventual destruction at the hands of two run away tankers. The talk uniquely seeks to unravel several bridge myths and presents recently unearthed documentary evidence which assist to lay to rest this sad chapter of Gloucestershire’s Maritime Past.
Thursday 28th November 2019 @ 7.30 pm in Purton Village Hall
Michael Gamble – Wiltshire through the eyes of a Moonraker
Friday 6th December 2019 @ 7.30 pm in the Silver Threads Hall
Christmas Social Evening:
The Historical Society’s Christmas Social is always a very friendly festive evening. This year, back by popular request, we have booked The Whitehorse Folk Group to provide our entertainment. In addition there will be a buffet supper, a quiz, a raffle and a lucky ticket number. We supply the food and you are welcome to bring drinks of your choice. Full detail of ticket price (which is always very reasonable) and where to obtain tickets will be available very shortly on our posters, at our meetings, in the museum and in future magazines.
Thursday 23rd January 2020
Sarah Finch Crisp – St Mary’s Church Lydiard, Conservation Project.
New Members and visitors always welcome.
Janet and Tony Neate: Tel: 01793 770117
E mail: tjneate57@gmail.com
MUSEUM UPDATE
The beginning of WW2 will be commemorated by a display of Purton defences and artefacts
from 4th September to 23rd November 2019.
“One man’s war” Joe Ricketts WW1 memorabilia continues to be on display until the museum closes for the winter, when the artefacts will be returned to the Ricketts family.
Step down memory lane and see “Signs of Times Past” exploring the origins of our road names.
Browse over Roy a’Court’s photograph albums that span over half a century of village gatherings.
There is “A quiz for curious minds” and “find the mice” for the tiny tots.
Something for all ages in Purton Museum.
Open Wednesday 2.00pm to 5.00pm and Saturday 10.00am to 12.30pm. Admission free.
There will be a friendly volunteer available, who enjoys answering your questions.
Webpage: www.purtonmuseumandhistoricalsociety.com
Marion Hobbs: Tel: 01793 770185
E mail:
MUSEUM VISITS BY ST MARY'S PRIMARY SCHOOL
On the afternoon of Tuesday 11th June the children from Year 5, as part of their topic work, visited Purton Museum in order to see artefacts from WW1. The children listened to a welcoming talk answering questions such as 'How old are the artefacts?' 'How many of their lifetimes would that have been?' It was pointed out that the medals that they could handle belonged to Caitlin's (Class 12) great great grandfather Aurthur Wilfred Rushen and that he didn't fight on the Western front but landed in Salonika and the children were asked to find out where this was. The children were also asked 'Where is Gallipoli?' as a number of Purton soldiers were killed there. As two of the artefacts on show belonged to Captain Ward of the Wiltshire Yeomanry another question set for the children was 'What is a yeoman?' The children looked at the Joe Ricketts’ WW1 display and the board depicting Children at War. They tried on the Pith helmet and were fascinated by the sword. A number of children in Year 5 should now be addressed as Sir as they spent time knighting each other with the sword (it did remain in the scabbard at all times). The x-rays of the arm wounds and the shrapnel that caused them caught the children's interest. The following Tuesday afternoon saw the Year 6 children visiting with the same format followed except it was Lauren's (Class 14) great great grandfather's medals and as these children were aged 11 with some of them reaching the age of 12 before the end of the year they were asked to see what employment they might have done to aid the war effort as the school leaving age 1914 - 1918 was 12. In all 95 children with their teachers and TAs visited over the two afternoons with a number of children expressing a wish to visit the museum on another occasion.
Clive and Liz Rushen, Telephone: 01793 770933
E mail:
