Suffolk Local History Council

The SLHC is an umbrella group for all types of historical societies and individuals in the county, and my portfolio is 'Recorders Secretary', a role that I share with my husband. I also represent the Ipswich Society on the SLHC Committee. The purpose of the Local Recorders Scheme is to find a suitable person in each parish to collect and record what is happening 'today' as that will become 'tomorrow's history'. My particular responsibility is to recruit Recorders for those areas without a representative.

Ipswich is too big for one person to cope with, and has been divided using the local government boundaries - which equates to 16 areas. When I wrote last time (May 2014) only 5 areas had a Recorder but that has now increased, thanks to this Newsletter, to eight areas. I continue to appeal for a volunteer in: Alexandra, Bixley, Gainsborough, Gipping, Holywells, Sprites, St. John and St. Margaret. There are also a number of vacant parishes throughout the county for anyone interested who lives outside Ipswich, and they are all now listed on the SLHC website.

Being a Recorder does not involve research into the history of the parish or family histories; it just focuses on the contemporary. We have only two requirements, that the Recorder is on-line and that they submit a short annual report. Several Recorders have submitted reports for many years so you can imagine the variety of changes over a period of time. We do ask that an initial report is provided to describe the area to set it in context for comparison against future reports. A Starters Pack is available to describe the role in more detail, and support if required.

If you would like to find out more about becoming the Recorder for your area, please e-mail me on: janette1407@hotmail.co.uk

Janette Robinson