Swansea and World War Two – The People’s Story
A NEW documentary capturing personal memories of one of the darkest times in Swansea’s history is about to have its premiere.
‘Swansea and World War Two – The People’s Story’ is the latest instalment of Swansea Museum’s popular World War Two documentaries and uses first hand accounts from eye witnesses to chart the city’s struggle throughout the war and during the three-night Luftwaffe blitz of February 1941.
The DVD will be launched to the public at Swansea Museum on Saturday December 17, at 1pm following a special preview at 11am for those who contributed to the film.
The film has been almost two years in the making and follows an appeal in January 2010 to local communities for stories about the Three Night Blitz as Swansea prepared to mark the 70th anniversary of that tragic night.
The response was tremendous with over 100 people getting in touch, most of whom took part in filming resulting in over 50 hours of film.
The DVD has been produced in partnership between Swansea Museum and Create Solutions, a local project which works to turn around the career prospects of people dealing with mental health issues.
Barry Hughes, Swansea Council Learning Officer at Swansea Museum, said, “Most interviews could be a film on their own, but we tried to tell the story of what happened to the town by the people who lived through the war years.
“As the interviews progressed we realised that many stories were from before the blitz and the final DVD would have to reflect this. As it is this film tells the story from the outbreak of war to the Blitz of February 1941. The next instalment will tell what happened next.
“The whole process will lend itself to bringing some of the museum’s World War Two collection to life and could not have been possible without the generosity of local people who have given so much of their time.
It is hoped that ‘Swansea and World War Two – The People’s Story’ will prove as much of a hit as ‘Three Nights Blitz’ which sold all of its first batch of 250 copies in the first few weeks of release.
A limited number of DVDs will be available at the launch with orders for further copies being taken on the day.
The Royal Institution of South Wales will be holding their annual local history book fair at Swansea Museum once again. A great chance to come and have a browse and learn more about the history of Swansea and surrounding areas.
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