Truth and Transition

SEE3 writes -
"Louise Green, a final year graphic design student at UCA Epsom, has made a short documentary on Sydenham entitled "Truth and Transition of the High Street".




In this short documentary, the local shopkeepers and residents of Sydenham discuss these questions in search for the truth, each with diverse opinions. Why and how is the landscape of the high street changing? What do people believe is currently occurring? What does the future hold?

An accompanying book is available from Sydenham Community Library or copies can be purchased by contacting Louise on louise.k.green@gmail.com. She would also like your comments on the documentary, which you can leave directly on YouTube or send by email."

Truth and Transition
Posted from SEE3

Afghan Hound Racing 1958 - British Pathe News video

In November 1958 dog breeder Jean Briggs was given permission to try out her dogs at New Cross Stadium by the Greyhound Association. British Pathe have the video which you can see on their site - Afghan Hound Racing

Afghan Hound Racing - British Pathe newsreel

Five Hundred Years of Deptford and Woolwich Royal Dockyards

Deptford is writes:

The Royal Dockyard, Deptford
from an engraving dated 1793.
Lewisham Local History & Archives collection

"The Naval Dockyards Society are holding their Annual Conference at the National Maritime Museum on Saturday 20 April.  Five Hundred Years of Deptford and Woolwich Royal Dockyards will mark the 500th anniversary of the foundation of the Thames yards by Henry VIII and will be opened by Dame Joan Ruddock, MP for Lewisham Deptford ...."

Cost: £40 (£35 students, senior citizens, unemployed)
(includes lunch – rolls, sandwiches, fruit, cake, tea and coffee 1.25-2.25pm)

The King's Dockyard was first built in 1513 and lies under the present Convoys Wharf site in Deptford.

Download the booking form.

www.navaldockyards.org
Facebook: Naval Dockyards Society
Twitter: @navdocksoc


Five Hundred Years of Deptford and Woolwich Royal Dockyards
Posted from Deptford is

The Folly in Sydenham Hill Woods

Interesting post in the Sydenham Society blog about 'Pulhamite' Victorian landscaped gardens in Sydenham

"In 2008 English Heritage published a guide to the work of Pulham & Co, who created artificial garden landscapes including grottos, temples, follies and fountains. The company also developed cement that bore a striking resemblance to natural stone and called it Pulhamite.

Pulham published a prospectus in 1877 that listed all the gardens they had worked on up to that date. Six of the gardens were in Sydenham and two in Forest Hill. The most interesting was described as “Hill Wood, Sydenham” where “Alderman Stone” commissioned two pieces of Pulhamite, one in 1862 and another in 1866 ...."

Read the complete post at ....The Folly in Sydenham Hill Woods
Posted from The Sydenham Society

Sharing Heritage launched by HLF to support local heritage and history

Sharing Heritage is a new funding programme to help people across the UK explore, conserve and share all aspects of the history and character of their local area.

With a commitment from HLF of £3m each year, grants between £3,000 and £10,000 will now be available to groups who want to discover their local heritage.

HLF writes -
"This new programme follows the unprecedented success of last year's one-off HLF grant scheme 'All Our Stories', which ran in tandem with BBC Two's The Great British Story: A People’s History, presented by historian, Michael Wood. The scheme was four times oversubscribed and convinced HLF of people's appetite to get involved.

Projects are expected to cover a wide spectrum of subject matter but could include exploring local archaeology, a community's cultures and traditions, identifying and recording local wildlife and protecting the surrounding environment, collecting and digitising old photos, producing local history publications, conserving sites or items of local significance, managing and training volunteers, and holding festivals and events to commemorate the past.

• Sharing Heritage is for any not-for-profit group wanting to explore their community’s heritage. For further information, view the Sharing Heritage page
• All Our Stories was developed in response to HLF's Strategic Framework consultation with both the public and heritage sector. Based on this, HLF has made applying for funding simpler and easier for first-time applicants and community groups. Last year, All Our Stories grants were promoted through five BBC Learning events at flagship heritage locations and regional events across the UK which ran in tandem with BBC Two's The Great British Story: A People's History series which inspired people to get involved with their local heritage. These events provided opportunities for people to discover their place in history and uncover the history of their local area and encouraged applications to HLF.
• The All Our Stories programme was four times oversubscribed with a total investment from HLF of £4.5m. Over 500 successful projects were announced in November 2012 and are currently underway.

The Kaiser’s Own

Interesting article in Great War London blog about  the role of German born and/or naturalised Londoners including Lewisham residents in the Great War 1914-18

"The Kaiser’s Own:
... In 1916, Army Orders established two new battalions in the Middlesex Regiment. These would contain recruits who were British citizens but the children of immigrants from nations with whom Britain was at war; the men were promised that they would not have to bear arms against the enemy. The units were named the 30th and 31st battalions and they served only in the UK. Some additional similar Labour Companies were also formed in 1917 and served in France. The units were known (rather cruelly) by some as “The Kaiser’s Own”.

Several Londoners served in the 31st Battalion – which ended the war based in Croydon.

"Hugo Max Norman Hotopf was born in Northumberland in 1881, the son of Hugo and Johanna who were German immigrants naturalised as British citizens in 1895. By the start of the Great War he was married, living in Lewisham, and had a son – William Hugh Norman Hotopf, born June 1914. Norman was working as a dye expert for the rather Germanic-sounding Badische Company in Brunswick Place near Old Street ....."

Read more on the Great War London blog
Posted from Great War London

James Elroy Flecker (5 November 1884 – 3 January 1915)

English poet James Elroy Flecker died on this day in 1915. He was born in Lewisham at 9 Gilmore Road, SE13 on 5th November 1884. His most famous works include "To a Poet a Thousand Years Hence" and "The Golden Journey to Samarkand".

He was commemorated by the GLC in 1886 and you can see details of his Blue Plaque on the London Remembers website

You can read his works on Project Gutenberg at Works by James Elroy Flecker