War artefacts sought for Woodhorn Museum holiday weekend

Posted by The Journal on Aug 24, 09 10:27 AM in News

Staff at a Northumberland visitor attraction are urging people to dust off their old wartime artefacts and bring them along to a special event over the coming Bank Holiday weekend.

A team of experts will be at the Woodhorn Museum and Archives Centre near Ashington to identify and explain the purpose of items left over from the Second World War.

The Time Bandits experts will be at the museum this Saturday, Sunday and Monday between 11am and 4pm, when visitors are invited to bring along their artefacts.

The sessions have been organised to coincide with the Northumberland at War exhibition currently running at Woodhorn.

It tells the story of life on the North East home front and in foreign battlefields during the 1939-45 conflict.

Exhibition officer Liz Ritson said: "If you've ever wondered about that old object from the war that has been sitting in the drawer, then this weekend is the time to dust if off and bring it to Woodhorn.

"We will have a team of experts on hand to identify the objects and explain how they would have been used. It's amazing what people have in their homes without realising what they are.

"Woodhorn's own marketing officer had an old bell in her home, but didn't realise that it once belonged to an air raid warden.

"She was fascinated to learn that the bell would have been used to sound the all clear at the end of an air raid.''

Visitors are asked not to bring along any weapons or munitions.

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