Great news - we have been shortlisted for an international award for our Nine Men, Nine Lives, One Great War part of Walkley Ways, Walkley Wars.
Walkley Community Centre has been shortlisted in the Association for Heritage Interpretation 2015 Discover Heritage Awards – for excellence in cultural and natural heritage interpretation in Britain and Ireland – sponsored by Geosho.
Nine Men, Nine Lives, One Great War (part of Walkley Ways, Walkley War) has been shortlisted in the Community Projects category. Nine Men was the result of the Walkley Historians' hard work researching the nine members of Walkley Reform Club who fought and died fighting during the First World War. Their research was connected to the renovation of the memorial windows which can be seen in their original location in what is now Walkley Community Centre. The project created an exhibition displayed in Beeches, Gerry's and St Mary's Church, talks which were videoed, webpages on this website and a rededication ceremony plus open day attended by family members of the men. Part of the research was tracking down photographs of the men to replace faded photos of them in the memorial windows.
AHI received a record number 49 entries to the re-launch year of its prestigious awards, now being held biennially, so we are delighted to be one of 15 shortlisted projects! AHI Discover Heritage Awards are the only UK and Irish awards to recognise all types of heritage interpretation. Projects of all shapes, sizes and budgets were entered from England, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The quality of interpretation was consistently high, which reflects the strength of heritage interpretation across the UK and Ireland. Shortlisted and commended sites were chosen by a team of interpretation experts from around the UK and Ireland. Read the full shortlist and see us on it here http://www.ahi.org.uk/www/awards/categories/.
We now wait the in-depth assessment by AHI site judges during the summer. We will find out whether we have won when AHI patron Loyd Grossman announces the winners at the gala awards ceremony, held at the AHI conference on the 21st October at the Hilton Central Hotel, Newbury.
The AHI Discover Heritage Awards are the only UK and Irish awards to recognise excellence in all types and sizes of heritage interpretation whether held in museums, historic buildings, visitor centres or any type of outdoor location. Any form of media is suitable including exhibition, print, digital, art or live. An eligible project can be small or large. Whether it is a new leaflet or a million-pound visitor centre (or anything in between), the awards celebrate projects that best meet their interpretive aims and successfully communicate their key messages to their audiences.