Documents wanted from town's Windrush generation
Ironbridge Gorge Museum TrustMembers of the Windrush generation that settled in Telford are being asked to share documents that help tell their stories of coming to live in the town.
The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and Telford and Wrekin Council are hosting a drop-in event at Leegomery Community Centre on 3 April, which the Caribbean community is encouraged to attend.
The organisations wants to see letters, photos, boarding passes, payslips and passports from people who travelled to Telford between the 1940s and 1980s.
The documents will be scanned and eventually displayed on "Back A Yard" boards, which will be housed in the trust's collections.
In 1948, people from the British colonies were given the right to live and work in Britain under the British Nationality Act.
Caribbean people came over on HMT Empire Windrush to help rebuild post-war Britain and became known as the Windrush generation.
Back a Yard, a West Midlands-based project developed by Dr Tony Talburt and Dr Pedro Cravinho at Birmingham City University, hopes to create a historical collection of personal documentary material relating to Caribbean migrants who settled in the West Midlands.
The trust said the displays would serve as a valuable resource for future generations and researchers.
'Under-explored story'
Andrea Nelson, community engagement and diversity, equity, and inclusion manager at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, said the trust was "delighted" to be working on the project.
"There is a large Caribbean community in Telford, all with stories to tell of their life in the town, and we can't wait to hear them," she said.
Nick Booth, the trust's collections and learning director, said: "Our main purpose is to collect, preserve and interpret stories, artefacts and objects which capture the history of our area and to provide a space where stories can be told, shared and studied.
"This event is an opportunity to share the under-explored story of the local Caribbean community."
The community centre will be open for the public to make submissions between 14:00 BST and 17:00 on 3 April.
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