Great Get Together Event

Bridging the generation gap at Barry War Museum & Heritage Centre

Celebrating how our shared history and heritage brings people together, the Barry War Museum & Heritage Centre organised a ‘Human Library’ event on Saturday June 22nd as part of the nationwide ‘Great Get Together’, organised in memory of the late Jo Cox MP.

Senior citizens bridged the generation gap with youngsters, coming together to bring alive history, while highlighting the sacrifices made by previous generations so that all generations can today live together in Wales enjoying peace and liberty.

The event highlighted the theme of the ‘Great Get Together (21-23 June 2024) run by the Jo Cox Foundation, the UK’s annual celebration of everything that unites our communities. It was inspired by Jo Cox’s belief that we have more in common than that which divides us, on what would have been Jo’s 50th birthday.

Local resident Irene Overton of Cadoxton, Barry, shared her stories with her great grandchildren Alex Archibald aged six, and Emily aged 8, along with the story of her late father Fred Moon who saw active service in France in World War 1.

Also, joining the event was Labour Party candidate Kanishka Narayan who heard local senior citizens share a wealth of anecdotes of times of hardship and profound history witnessing the war years in Barry.

Barry’s only Museum telling the story of Barry’s war years as well as its railway and docks’ heritage at its Barry Island Station home. The Museum educates visitors about Barry’s wartime story and fight against fascism, featuring an original World War 2 Anderson shelter, a 1940s kitchen, a World War 1 trench, as well as its pioneering role as the world’s first integrated rail and dock port.

The Museum is brought further alive with volunteer reenactors telling the story of the Home Front as well as of the armed services, along with a programme of free historical talks on local and military history is run by a community of volunteers. It has a Trip Advisor rating of 5.0 - the highest rating by any local tourist attraction.

The Museum runs a schools visit programme offering an ‘evacuee experience’, telling the story of how children escaped the Nazi bombing of their homes with war-time re-enactors bringing alive its lessons.

“By bringing together the different generations and cultures, we can create greater understanding of different generations’ views as well as celebrate how we have more in common. We can’t just take for granted the hard-won freedoms and liberties we enjoy here in Wales today.” said John Buxton Chairperson of the Barry War Museum & Heritage Centre.

Further details about Barry War Museum at www.barrywarmuseum.co.uk

Anyone interested in spending an hour or two helping out at the Museum, do get in touch by email to volunteers@barrywarmuseum.co.uk or visit www.barrywarmuseum.co.uk