SCARBOROUGH MARITIME HERITAGE CENTRE NEWS

FUNDING NEWS On Saturday 10th July volunteers from the SMHC presented their case for some funding from Scarborough's Voice Your Choice project. Norma, Jim, Mohammed and 11 year old Joseph dressed as pirates, fishermen and fisher women. The audience of around 150 people voted the SMHC the best presentation and project in Scarborough out of 36 other projects presented. The SMHC was awarded nearly four thousand pounds towards its continuing project to save Scarborough's maritime heritage.

We have submitted a bid for funding from Scarborough’s Community Fund “Voice Your Choice”. We will be giving a presentation to try and secure votes for our project on Saturday 10th July from 1.15pm in the concert room at the library in Vernon Road, Scarborough. We will be competing against many other worthy causes so need as many supporters as possible to come along and vote for us. Please tell your friends!

The SMHC committee has spent a long time preparing a case for national heritage lottery funding and we have finally submitted our stage one presentation. We have been allocated a case worker and should be hearing back from them by the beginning of September. If we succeed in stage one we will then have to invest a lot of time and energy preparing detailed plans for permanent premises that will secure the town’s maritime heritage for future generations.

VOLUNTEERS AT THE HEART OF SMHC The SMHC could not exist without the help of its volunteers. As you can see from the photographs above we have a team of dedicated people sorting and classifying the vast archive we are building up, along with others who staff the shop and help explain to visitors about the rich maritime history Scarborough has. Several volunteers were recently interviewed for a video promoting volunteering that is being made by the Coastal Moors and Voluntary Action Centre. Included below are a few comments made by SMHC volunteers about what involvement in the maritime centre means to them:
-“Being involved is very interesting and brings back memories of my childhood. I would be delighted if we could find a permanent home for the interesting artefacts we have.”
- “I think the SMHC is amazing because it brings old and young people together from all parts of the town and country. I really hope that we can save the stories, documents and photos from past generations of fishing families that risked their lives to put food on our tables.”

POSTCARD FROM FRANCE
SMHC volunteer Mark Vesey spent some of his summer holiday investigating the maritime museums in Brittany, France. Mark said “There were amazing and varied exhibitions available to the public in towns such as Brest, Douarnez and Concarneau. The Bretons take great pride in their maritime heritage and the visitor centres are packed with information, models and displays. We should really be inspired by the way they use their heritage to promote their culture and history. One Centre even had a fish tank so visitors can see what a real live cod or haddock look likes! One thing I found quite sad was that several ports had rows of abandoned decommissioned trawlers just rusting and rotting on their sides. It seems that their fishing industry has also suffered from cuts and many families have lost their livelihood

DONATIONS
Many thanks go to all the people who have donated to the maritime centre in the past few months. We have received some wonderful hand made remote control model boats, books and photographs, fishing rods and reels, cannon balls, a fisherman’s charm and a Dunkirk medal. We have a printed list of all the books now available to read and the archive team are about to start transferring the 20,000 pictures from the George Coull collection onto a computer.

About us Our mission is to establish a Centre that is open to the public and which celebrates all aspects of Scarborough's Maritime Heritage. To retain the skills and knowledge of our fishing, boat building and sea faring community which are being lost. To carefully store, restore and display all memorabilia and exhibits donated to the Centre. To stage exhibitions and events that will involve all members of the community from 5 years old to 90 years old.

Volunteers are always welcome to help us catalogue our archives, staff the shop, fundraise, give donations or write letters of support. Annual membership is £5 per person per year and helps us with our on-going mission as well as keeping you in touch with all our latest work and discoveries via our newsletter.

POSTCARD FROM FRANCE
SMHC volunteer Mark Vesey spent some of his summer holiday investigating the maritime museums in Brittany, France. Mark said “There were amazing and varied exhibitions available to the public in towns such as Brest, Douarnez and Concarneau. The Bretons take great pride in their maritime heritage and the visitor centres are packed with information, models and displays. We should really be inspired by the way they use their heritage to promote their culture and history. One Centre even had a fish tank so visitors can see what a real live cod or haddock look likes! One thing I found quite sad was that several ports had rows of abandoned decommissioned trawlers just rusting and rotting on their sides. It seems that their fishing industry has also suffered from cuts and many families have lost their livelihood. ”

36 Eastborough, Scarborough, YO11 1NJ. Tel 01723 369361. Email: scarboroughmaritime@yahoo.com SMHC is a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act 1985 &1989

DONATIONS
Many thanks go to all the people who have donated to the maritime centre in the past few months. We have received some wonderful hand made remote control model boats, books and photographs, fishing rods and reels, cannon balls, a fisherman’s charm and a Dunkirk medal. We have a printed list of all the books now available to read and the archive team are about to start transferring the 20,000 pictures from the George Coull collection onto a computer.