The Unexamined Lives Exhibition at Erewash Museum closed with a Gala Night on 29th November, 2016 which marked the culmination of six years’ work on the Unexamined Lives project. 

Project Director Helen Clark said “We are very grateful to Helen Martinez from the museum and all her staff for the use of the facilities at the museum, both on the night and in the preceding weeks of the exhibition including opportunities for artists Mik Godley and writer, Chrissie Hall, to hold exhibition-related weekend workshops.”

Eric Highton, whose Life can be found on the Unexamined Lives website at  “All the World’s a Stage – Eric Highton”  has died after a long illness at the Royal Derby Hospital on Tuesday 9th August 2016. He was aged 91 years.

In 2014, much of the work undertaken by the Borrowash Heritage Lottery-funded ‘Unexamined Lives’ project centred upon the War Memorial in the village. Our researchers Keith Oseman and Peter Ball uncovered the histories behind the names on the Memorial and Keith created a ‘Virtual’ First World War Memorial for our site. One person who stood out because she was the only woman to be commemorated on the village Memorial was Margaret Helen Hassé. In the 1911 Census, Margaret (born in 1887) is recorded as living in the Fulneck Moravian settlement near Leeds and working as a music teacher. Margaret’s brother, Edwin who was killed in action on July 12th 1916 is also listed on the Memorial.

This is the remarkable continuation into the 21st century of the friendship between the family of Walter Greiner, the German POW in the Alvaston camp and the Day family. It began when the Day family invited Walter, who died last year, to Christmas dinner in 1946 as a gesture of reconciliation. Walter’s daughter Birgit has written to Brian and Maureen Day to say proud he was of the stories we have posted on the website and in the Derby Telegraph “Bygones” section about their friendship.

One of our most exciting projects came to fruition just before Christmas 2015 when seventy pupils at Ashbrook Junior School in Borrowash performed ‘Number 17: 100 Years’ History of a Borrowash House’ written by our own Chrissie Hall.

We were delighted to hear in March from one of our “Lifers” Brian Day whose story appears in  “A Green Thought – Brian Day“. It was Brian who told us that another of our subjects, his long standing friend Walter Grenier, had died in late 2015. Brian has been in contact with Walter’s wife Anita and also updates us on another sad loss …. and  new arrival in the Day household!

‘ Unexamined Lives’ is delighted to announce that we have been awarded ‘second tranche’ funding from The Heritage Lottery Fund having satisfied their requirements.

We are particularly pleased to note that the range and variety of the project was commended as was the quality and accessibility of the website and the clarity and precision of the accountancy provided by our Treasurer, Peter Ball.