Blog

Remembrance Day 2020

As we are all more than aware, the second lockdown of 2020 means that we are unable to mark remembrance day as we would do in normal times. However, with huge thanks to Marian Land we are able to share with you the opportunity to access her research in to the former residents of Bluntisham who served in World War One. Marian has written an introduction to her work, provided an example of research folder and a list of all the people for whom she has created a file. We hope that this will allow us all to recognise Remembrance Weekend during this lockdown . Thank you Marian for all your hard work and for allowing us to share this on the Heritage Project. Please click this link to access the research https://www.bhp-pc.org.uk/bluntisham-cum-earith-war-memorial/

New images

Check out new photos provided by Helen Starling showing some old images of the playground. For those who don’t remember where the playground used to be it was located where the outdoor gym is now. The football pitch was on the cricket pitch, they shared facilities from the early 1970’s. See the photo provided by John Wadsworth of the football team who were the first to play in the new location (previously football was played on a pitch in Wood End)

Bluntisham also had its own tennis courts, these were also located in Mill Lane and were on the right hand side, houses now replace the old courts. Helen has also provided some pictures of Presses Close.

So what are you waiting for…..get searching.

The Barograph

Welcome to Autumn. If you are looking to find something interesting to do on this very wet Sunday afternoon, can I suggest that you have a look around the Heritage website. In particular have a read of the new article on the Barograph. All residents of Bluntisham, both past and present will be familiar with the Barograph that stands at the top of the High Street. I am not sure how many will know who, why or when it was erected and who looks after it now. Hopefully this article will give you a taste of its history and inspire you to have a look at the readings next time you are passing.

Click here

New Photo’s Added

With thanks to Nora Crick, we have added some new photos today. This one is of the St Helen’s Dinner Ladies, back in the 70s. On the back row are Mary White, Nora Crick, Marilyn Clements. On the front row are Anne Ward, Joy James and Joyce Dighton. Nora also shared with us a great photo of a snowy back garden in Presses Close, with nothing but orchards backing on to the garden where today you would find The Poplars. To see more please look in the following galleries – Presses Close, the Baptist Chapel, Parish Church, Short Lane and Colne Road. Thank you again Nora for sharing more photos with the Heritage Project.

Proper Old School

Earlier in July, Wendy Cox kindly provided us with two new photographs. One of which is the oldest School photo that we have on the site and dates back to 1923. If you have read the article on the site about the old school, you will know that most of these children spent much of their time working on the land or in the orchards. I wonder if that was still the case in 1923. There are names against each one of them, but some initials are missing, so if you can help with any of the names please let us know.

The second photo is of a group of Bluntisham Brownies from probably sometime around the 50’s or 60’s judging from the uniforms. Some of their names are complete but others not and once again we would like to ask for your help in filling in any of the gaps.

Thank you Wendy for these photos.

July Newsletter

Welcome to the July 2020 Newsletter and hopefully as you read this more restrictions on daily life have been lifted. The three month lockdown has been a unique moment in the history of the village and one that we have tried to record in the Covid section of the website. Thank you to everyone who sent in their photos to be included on the page.

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Boxing in Bluntisham

During the last couple of months we have been adding video, articles, photos and press cuttings covering the history of boxing in the village. The Laud brothers enjoyed success on a National level and they trained in a gym at Heath Farm on Wood End. We even had our very own boxing promoter in Fred White, who along with trainer Andy Smith, managed and promoted their fights. Joe Bugner, was also part of the Andy Smith stable and spent time training in the Bluntisham Gym.

Treat yourself to half an hour, and look through these articles, get yourself a cup of tea or perhaps something stronger. Please follow this link https://www.bhp-pc.org.uk/others/, for a tour of the pugilistic past of our village.

With thanks to Bev White, the Laud family and Shirley and Tim Rose for all of their efforts in contributing the details and a big shout out to Malcolm O’Neil for all his efforts in putting it together.

Bluntisham School 1957

Today we have added three new photos, all provided by Bev White, who appears in these photos. There is a list of the school prize winners for the year, along with one class photo and one of the entire school. There are some very familiar names in the photos, and there are some gaps, so if anyone can help with any of the missing names, then please get in touch. These photos can be found in the School 1950’s onwards gallery. Thank you Bev for letting us share these images.

We have also added in the last week a section of local archeology that contains some very interesting details about the area surrounding Bluntisham. Thanks to Peter Lusmore for adding all of the details.

As we continue with lockdown we are keen to include photos and articles about how you have faired during the lockdown in our Covid section on the website.

Covid-19

We have now added the first photographs that have been submitted to our Covid-19 section of the website. Please have a look at the photos. We are keen to include as much detail as we can, be that in the form of video diaries, stories, photos and more. Please continue to send things to us and help record this unimagined time in all our lives.