Series of digital events launched by Chesterfield Museum
Chesterfield Borough Council’s museum’s team have been busy planning a series of digital events to commemorate the 75th anniversary of V-J Day and the end of World War Two, and a range of online summer holiday activities. There are lots of great activities for the whole family to get involved in.
V-J Day – 75th Anniversary
Chesterfield Borough Council will be commemorating the 75th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day) by launching an exclusive video on the Chesterfield Museum Facebook page.
V-J Day takes place on Saturday 15 August and the Museum have partnered with History’s Maid to develop a video that commemorates this day and the soldiers who tragically lost their lives in the Pacific campaign.
Councillor Kate Sarvent, cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “Our virtual VE Day celebrations were a great success and I’m pleased to be able to announce a similar selection of events and activities to help commemorate the anniversary of V-J Day.”
The video, along with activities for viewers to download, will be released via Facebook at 11am on Saturday 15 August. It will provide some important background to V-J Day including how it marked the end of World War Two. The video and activities will remain on the website for people to view and download.
Follow Chesterfield Museum on Facebook here: www.facebook.com/chesterfieldmuseum
Summer Holidays Online
Chesterfield Museum’s main exhibition this summer was going to be ‘Put That Light Out!’ which would explore the home front in Chesterfield during World War II, including rationing, holidays at home, the Women’s Voluntary Service and the Home Guard.
In order to bring this exhibition to life on a digital platform, the Museum will be running three online videos which aim to tell the story of everyday life during World War Two.
The videos will be available on the Chesterfield Museum Facebook page at 11am on three consecutive Mondays starting from 17 August.
Councillor Kate Sarvent continued: “I’m delighted that the Chesterfield Museum is able to make these videos available online, as it’s so important that we remind ourselves and teach our children and young people about what life was like during World War Two. The Chesterfield Museum website also has a selection of activities including some brilliant arts and crafts that will help young people connect with history and understand the impact of World War Two.”
The first video focusses on evacuation and you will learn about the role of an evacuation officer, how it felt to send her own children away and will discover what ‘operation pied piper’ was. You will also find out how gas masks influenced women’s hair styles, the meaning behind ‘saucepans for spitfires’ and how the blitz affected Chesterfield.
On the 24 August you can learn how rationing changed the lives of local people when it was introduced in January 1940, find out what was in weekly rations and some of the hints and tips that were popular at the time to make rations go further.
It will also look at ‘dig for victory’ and how this encouraged everyone to become vegetable gardeners and grow their own produce anywhere, even on the top of Anderson shelters. There is also a special look at the incredible work done in supplying food for the country by the Women’s Land Army during World War Two.
The final video in the series will be released on Monday 31 August and will explore why clothes rationing was introduced when materials were scarce and why this meant that boys wore shorts all year round no matter the weather. People were also encouraged to repair clothes and recycle old fabric, creating an overall message of waste not, want not.
The series of three video will be released on Facebook, www.facebook.com/chesterfieldmuseum, and the selection of activities that will help young people connect with history and understand the impact of World War Two can be accessed here: www.chesterfield.gov.uk/museum from Saturday 15 August.
