Swaffham history group wins lottery grant for remembrance project

A Swaffham history group has been given a £13,000 lottery grant to develop a military remembrance trail project in the area.

Swaffham Heritage, a voluntary group serving the town and nearby villages, has secured Heritage Lottery Fund support for the two year programme.

The project aims to tell the stories of people and events from the Swaffham area related to military conflicts of the 20th century.

The scheme will incorporate a permanent display at the Swaffham Museum, as well as outreach work with community groups.

They will work alongside volunteers, known as Memory Makers. who will be trained to give talks on the subject, record memories and present themed loan boxes as part of the project.

Trustee Anne Fairweather, who drew up the lottery bid, said: “Thanks to people contributing to the National Lottery Fund, both the community and visitors to the area will be able to explore Swaffham’s rich Remembrance Heritage and value lessons from the past.”

The area has many stories to tell of its military past, ranging from prisoners of war being held at Cockley Cley during the Second World War to nuclear warheads being housed on the former US base at North Pickenham during the Cold War.

Work on the project is due to begin in November, coinciding with the centenary of the end of the First World War, and a progress gallery is expected to open early in the new year before a full launch later in 2019.