We are delighted in 2021 to be working collaboratively with Bodmin Keep on a project with the Imperial War Museum (IWM). Thanks to Lottery Players the IWM has received funding to open two new galleries on the Second World War and Holocaust. This project also sees IWM working with eight cultural partners across the UK to share hidden or lesser-known stories. Excitingly as one of the partners we have received funding for a Digital Intern and a programme of community events plus we can directly access IWM‘s collections/expertise.

Last week we were joined by Joseph Quinn, who will be working on this project as our Digital Intern. His focus for the next 8 months will be to explore our collections and research Cornwall during the Second World War. In collaboration with Bodmin Keep, we will be seeking new stories about life in wartime Cornwall. Our aim, at the Museum of Cornish Life, will be to capture the impact of the war upon everyday society, and particularly how it interrupted or altered individual’s lives. To this end, we will be looking for individual stories captured in letters, diaries, interviews and objects which connect to the Cornish experience of the war.

If you have a story, a written account or an artefact that you would be willing to share, or you know somebody who has a story about life Cornwall in the Second World War that they would be willing to speak to us about, then please feel free to contact us at the museum on 01326 564027, or email Joseph at ww2project@museumofcornishlife.co.uk