Thatcham Ephemera and Postcards
Graeme Stewart will present "Thatcham Ephemera and Postcards" in two 45 minutes sessions. Afterwards there will be a short, 20minute, session where visitors may bring their own items, postcards, etc. for Graeme and the team to look at and possibly help identify, or loan to Thatcham Historical Society for scanning.
Mr Stewart will talk about and exhibit postcards and ephemera on Thatcham cover the last 100years and possibly beyond. Mr Stewarts collection includes letters, postcards and much more. Some of these give a glimpse at what is happening in Thatcham in the past whilst others offer an insight into the lives of the people at the time. Examples include letters sent from the Army Depot in 1941, a Prisoner Of War (POW) camp engraving and paper cuttings showing that cricket had been played on the Marsh (Dunstan Green) several hundred years ago.
Background information
It is known that Queen Victoria had medals made for the Scholars of Thatcham and that there was a Navy ship bearing the name HMS Thatcham. This was an inshore mine sweeper with the number M2790, of which Mr Stewart may show photographs of.
Early postcards could not be written on, on the back, except for the address. This was part of the legal issues of the day, and hence many of the early postcards have the messages written on the front of the postcard.
Some buildings and parts of Thatcham are rarely seen, if at all, on postcards. These include the Swan Inn and the Kennet School. If you have any items you would like to show us or loan to us, please bring them along.
