Tea and Testimony

Discovering the extraordinary lives of ordinary people

Worcestershire's historic past is made up of multiple layers of the lives of its residents - sometimes dramatic, sometimes tragic, sometimes unacknowledged and occasionally even forgotten. Many of these people, though ordinary, actually had an extraordinary impact upon the world.

Worcestershire Archive Service has a wealth of resources on hand to help uncover more about the lives of many Worcestershire people. To celebrate the Explore Your Archive 2015 event, staff have been busy uncovering the secrets of five of Worcestershire's extraordinary residents: Joseph Blackburn, celebrated painter; Ann Osborn, midwife; Arthur Horner, one of the early Artic explorers; Joseph Garrett, the first County Surveyor for Worcestershire and Harry Martin, talented Royal Worcester Porcelain painter killed in WWI.

To celebrate the unsung talent of these Worcestershire people we are inviting you come along for tea and the chance to learn more about their lives. We will also be delivering a family history taster session, in which we can help you get started with your own research or answer any questions you might have. There will also be a chance to learn more about the Worcestershire World War 100 project and the People's Exhibition. We will have documents and sources on display for you to browse, as well as an exhibition of items in our cabinets.

The event will take place on Thursday, 19th November, 10am to 1pm at The Hive, Level 2, Room 3. You can come along for the whole event or just pop in for one of the sessions:

10am: Discovering the extraordinary lives of 5 Worcestershire people

11am: Starting your family history taster session

12pm: Worcestershire's World War 100 and the People's Exhibition

The event is free and no booking is required – simply come along on the day to hear our recollections and even share recollections of your own extraordinary ancestors if you like. Free tea and biscuits will be available throughout.

We will be featuring the stories of each of the Worcestershire residents we have researched on our blog throughout the Explore Your Archive campaign, so keep an eye on www.explorethepast.co.uk to find out more.