IN 1948, hundreds of people from the Caribbean boarded the Empire Windrush and travelled to Tilbury Docks in Essex. With them they brought an explosion of dance, art, writing and music which would transform British culture.
AT our March meeting we welcomed Twigs Way, Research Consultant with the Essex Gardens Trust. Working with the Land of the Fanns she worked on a project to find the lost gardens of Thurrock. The project was in four parts – 50 Fabulous Features, 17 Sites, 15 Lost Gardens and 12 Volunteer Researchers.
FORMER pupils at William Edwards School in Grays have launched a petition calling on the school to reverse its decision to change its four house names.
AT our October meeting we welcomed Will Palin (a descendant of Rev William Palin of Stifford) chair of the Sheerness Dockyard Preservation Trust who, together with The Spitalfields Trust, aim to preserve the buildings and bring back life to the area.
A special ceremony on Monday 24 June will see the Armed Forces Flag raised outside the Civic Offices, Grays to remember and honour those who fought for our country. The event will be hosted by Cllr Terry Piccolo, Mayor of Thurrock begins at 10.15am.
SHARE your wartime memories of life in the borough at a special event later this month marking 80 years since the Second World War.
TWO of Thurrock’s Scout Groups have produced displays for Remembrance Day.
British public urged to beware of poppy merchandise scams THE Intellectual Property Office and The Royal British Legion urge consumers to beware of fake poppy merchandise ahead of Remembrance 2018 No-one benefits – both charity and public lose out with fake poppy merchandise. Advice to buyers to ‘buy responsibly’ through official channels, and how to […]
An article from the Grays and Tilbury Gazette dated 17th August 1918. OVER the last four years, we have been taking a dip into the pages of the Grays and Tilbury Gazette from 1914 to 1918. We wanted to see what life at hone was like whilst war raged overseas. This months news chimes with […]
WOMEN AND MANUAL LABOUR Colonel Whitmore is a considerable figure in South-East Essex, and his statement about women labour in France, some ploughing with three horses and others loading a muck cart as high as any in Essex are laden, is certain to claim considerable attention, as also his belief, that such work has got […]
Thurrock Local History Society lecture 20 January 2017 My life as a theatrical costumier by Ann Hardy The Society welcomed back Ann Hardy for our January lecture. Ann had always wanted to be a dressmaker, following her mother, and completed a four year apprenticeship with Marshall & Snelgrove who made bespoke clothing, nowadays only made […]
COME down to the Thameside Theatre and find out more about a fascinating period in Thurrock’s history.
At our November meeting we welcomed back Linda Rhodes, curator of Valence House Museum. She gave us a very detailed illustrated account of the sad lives of some apprentices of the Barking Fishing Fleet.