Federation of Old Cornwall Societies 

  Competition 2009 / 11 

"Cornwall in the Fifties"

• Recollections of, for instance -

  • day-to-day life for adults and children between 1950 and 1959

  • The changing role of women

  • Improvements in housing

  • Increasing number of chain stores and disappearance of local businesses

  • childhood games

  • sport and other leisure activities

  • church and chapel

  • the changing workplace

  • places and/or events of significance.

  • the effects of the end of rationing.

  • the effects of the motorised tourist industry.

  • the Coronation celebrations.

What should it contain

• Researched information for those who like to use libraries and archives

• Discovery of images of Cornwall in the fifties

• Descriptions and images of present-day remains for those with an archaeological bent

Tip:  Try to avoid re-hashing what other people have published already.

Who can be involved?

This is a Project in which members of all ages can engage - 

If you recall the period but don’t feel confident setting it down, pair up with someone who can take notes, write well, and/or use a computer. 

If you have computer skills, take on the role of word-processor. 

If you have a camera, use it for recording the structures and artifacts which survive today, and don’t forget a portrait of anyone supplying first-hand reminiscences is also valuable.

If you have a talent for drawing, or sketching, why not put your artistic interpretation skills to good use here?

Tip:  It is probably a good idea to ‘elect’ someone with good organisational aptitude as a team leader and to meet from time to time to review progress.

What will happen to the packages?

The Federation deposits its books, journals and papers at the Courtney Library of the Royal Institution of Cornwall in Truro.   There they are safely stored and available for bona fide researchers by prior arrangement with the Federation.

However, any Society wishing to keep its package may do so, and the Federation suggests that it be the Recorder’s responsibility to preserve it.

Will it be published?

Depending upon the success of the Project, the Federation may wish to publish parts of the gathered information, or to use the data so collected (in books or journals).

Entry to the Competition confirms that the Federation’s Officers may do so without obstruction; and that they may give authority to other researchers who may wish to use the information provided that there is due acknowledgement of the source.

The rules.

Who may enter?

All Old Cornwall Societies may enter.   An individual may also enter but the Competition is designed to encourage Society members to help each other.

Presentation

A folder-file or box-file suitable for A4 paper will be preferred.

Content structured for easy comprehension and use will also bring credit.

Judging

The judges will be a panel of independent persons of note with an interest in Cornwall’s history.

Winning

The winning Society will receive a Trophy to be retained throughout 2011, and the inestimable associated glory! 

The Timetable

The competition was officially ‘launched’ at the General Meeting at County Hall, Truro, on Saturday 1^st March 

The closing date is 30th January 2011.

The winners will be announced at the General Meeting on Saturday 5^th March 2011

Entries to: David Stark, Orchard Lodge, London Apprentice, St Austell, PL26 7AR.   Tel 01726-75423.

Sixteen Old Cornwall Societies, ranging from Saltash in the east and Bude-Stratton in the north to St Just & Pendeen in the far west and Mawnan in the south, entered the Federation’s first competition for the accumulation of remembered and researched information about a particular period of Cornwall’s more recent past, in this case the Second World War and what it was like to be in Cornwall at the time.

The challenge was to fill some of the gaps in the recorded history of the time, taking into account the seemingly insignificant minutiae ignored by those narrating the broader story of the country at war, meeting the movement’s objective of “gathering up the fragments that remain that none be lost”.  

Members enthusiastically contributed their first-hand recollections and those of their families, as well as bringing together records of the physical remnants which survived in their districts.    Some formed a team, meeting occasionally, and researched the period using newspapers and other contemporary records.

The independent judges enlisted were Mrs Kim Cooper of the Cornish Studies Library [who has extensive experience of evaluating such records for their historical worth];  Mrs Moira Tangye, [one of the founder members of the Cornwall Heritage Trust, the first Secretary of the Cornwall Family History Society and organizer of the Murdoch House History Group, and who has carried out extensive local history research];  and Mr Derek Warren [the Chairman of the RAF Association’s St Austell Branch, whose interests include the Davidstow Moor Airfield and Cornwall at War Museum].

A trophy to hold for one year and a certificate was awarded to the Winners, Camborne Old Cornwall Society, for a truly magnificent effort of which the judges remarked that it was “varied, concise and well-presented”, recorded “good examples of current remains”, and “entered into the spirit of the competition by recording new memories”.

A Highly Commended certificate was given to Bude–Stratton Old Cornwall Society. The judges praised their “excellent package of resources”, applauding their use of local records and photographs, as well as the recording of the wartime remains.

Truro Old Cornwall Society received a certificate of Commendation, especially for their strong team work, and the way in which they had entered into the spirit of the competition.

These valuable files will be preserved, either by the Societies themselves, or at the Courtney Library of the Royal Institution of Cornwall in Truro.   Copyright and ownership rests with the individual Societies, and so any consent for sight of them or research using their findings must be addressed to the relevant Secretaries (see Contacts page on this website).

Such was the success of the first such competition that a new challenge has been set for 2009-11 – to record “Cornwall in the Fifties”.