1000 Young Ambassadors Discover The History Of Nine Elms
Last week, 1000 Londoners embarked on its new heritage learning project Nine Elms Past & Present with two unforgettable events. On Wednesday, the 1000 Londoners Young Ambassadors had the once in a lifetime opportunity to go up the Battersea Power Station and on Saturday they discovered objects from the past with the Wandsworth Museum.
Soaring above London’s skyline with Battersea Power Stations’ resident Peregrine Falcons we were given the chance to visit the showroom half way up the Power Station. Whilst we were there the Young Ambassadors met and filmed Larry, a local resident from the Springfield Senior Citizens Group, and interviewed him about his memories when the Power Station was running. One amazing story he remembered was the black snow and the fog in the 1970s from the dust from the Battersea Power Station towers. It was a beautiful sunny day and we could see impressive views right across London from the showroom.
On Saturday, the Young Ambassadors met for special day of oral history and interview techniques training delivered by the Wandsworth Museum. We had great fun discovering heritage items from the Museum’s collection from the 1970s and 1980s and particularly loved the flared trousers, a Walkman, an old fashioned telephone and a stereoscope in the collection. The ambassadors also learnt how to use Chocolate Films new Canon 7D Camera and digital recording equipment all in preparation for our reminiscence day this coming Saturday with the Springfield Senior Citizens Group.
Nine Elms Past & Present has been made possible with funding from Heritage Lottery Fund. The project is steered by the 1000 Londoners Young Ambassadors and will enable young people aged between 15-24 to engage with and discover more about senior citizens living in Nine Elms. Together young people from Wandsworth the Young Ambassadors will be exploring the history of family life in 1970’s and 1980’s Battersea, paying particular attention to record memories of local working class people.
