In August last year The West Dunbartonshire Women’s History Group, supported by Glasgow Women’s Library, were awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Sharing Heritage Grant to fund a year-long project to document and preserve local women’s history. Over this year the women have worked hard to research and record the experiences of West Dunbartonshire women during the 1950’s & 60’s and have developed a set of unique community and educational resources in the form of a Memory Box full of artefacts from their chosen era and an A5 booklet. The artefacts and the booklet focus on different aspects of women’s lives, including education, social life, childbirth, contraception and motherhood and working life.
To launch the new resources, the women of West Dunbartonshire Women’s History Group are hosting a series of special celebration events throughout West Dunbartonshire. The first will be to launch the Memory Box and booklet on Friday 14th August from 1pm till 3pm in The Garden Gallery of Clydebank Museum in the Town Hall. A second event will be held on Friday 21st August from 1pm to 3pm in the Dumbarton Heritage Centre of Dumbarton Library. The Clydebank event is by invitation only and the Dumbarton event is open to all though booking is required.
The group will then be conducting Memory Box Workshop Sessions to provide an opportunity for everyone to experience the Memory Box with the guidance of its creators. They will show and explain the items from the Memory Box which include written memoirs, pictures and artefacts ranging from dancing shoes to a genuine 1950’s midwife’s bag. Why not join them to share your own memories or to learn about what women’s lives were like back then? They will cover themes like girls playground games, leaving school and working life, ‘goin to the dancin’, and share their experiences of womanhood and birth, working life and being a ‘housewife’. They want to show you how this resource can be loaned out for hands-on use at schools, community groups, care homes, day care facilities, local events, and to display in community venues.
The initial workshop sessions will take place on Saturday 15th August from 10.30am to 12pm, 1.30pm to 3pm at the Heritage Centre in Clydebank Library and on Saturday 22nd August from 10.30am to 12pm and 1.30pm to 3pm in the Heritage Centre of Dumbarton Library. Spaces for these workshops are limited so booking is essential. The Memory Box will also be on display in a drop-in exhibition taking place from Mon 17th – Wed 19th August from 10am – 3pm at the Heritage Centre of Clydebank Library and Mon 24th – Wed 26th August from 10am – 3pm at the Heritage Centre of Dumbarton Library. Participants from the Women Making History in West Dunbartonshire project will be there each day to answer your questions. There will also be a Memory Box workshop at Glasgow Women’s Library on Wednesday 28th October 1pm-3pm.
To book onto any of the above events please contact Glasgow Women’s Library on 0141 550 2267 or email us at info@womenslibrary.org.uk.
