FOUR INTRIGUING talks exploring the experiences of Oldhamers during World War One will thrill listeners at the Oldham Local Studies and Archives this weekend.
The series of talks starts on Saturday, November 14 at 10.30am and are free to all but booking is essential.
The first talk explores the career of Sarah Hallam, a trained nurse who volunteered to go out to Belgium in August 1914 and witnessed the German army entering Brussels.
She subsequently joined the French Flag Nursing Corps and spent the rest of the war nursing in the French army.
Shortly after the outbreak of war ‘comforts’ groups started to form consisting of women knitting items of clothing for men at the front, such as socks and scarves.
The second talk looks at the story of one of these groups from Failsworth and Woodhouses, based upon a unique collection of family archives.
Then the third talk explores how Oldhamers coped with the large influx of Belgian refugees into Britain in August 1914.
Communities all over the country opened their doors to offer places of refuge for these people after the Germans invaded Belgium that summer.
And the final talk examines what you could read about the war from your armchair in Oldham and what effect it may or may not have had on public perceptions of the war.
| 10.30am | Sarah Hallam and the French Flag Nursing Corps |
| 11.30am | The Failsworth and Woodhouses War Comforts Society |
| 1.30pm | Belgian Refugees in Oldham |
| 2.30pm | Reading About the War: Letters from the Front |
The talks will be held at Oldham Local Studies and Archives, 84 Union Street, Oldham, OL1 1DN. To book a place, call 0161 770 4654 or email: archives@oldham.gov.uk
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