AWHS completes bids for Lottery and Arts Council grants
January has been a busy month for the Alfred Williams Heritage Society as it has completed and filed bids for grants from both the Arts Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
If successful in its application to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), the society will be able to employ a project co-ordinator to organise the planned two-day Alfred Williams festival in Swindon on November 12 and 13, 2010, as well as implement other plans to "engage and educate" schoolchildren and others who are unaware of Alfred's inspirational life story.
Caroline Ockwell, the Society's Secretary, who has spent hours co-ordinating the application and a detailed budget proposal, said she hoped the society has been able to convince those looking after the HLF that a large number of people of all ages would benefit from the society's ambitious plans.
She said: "Support from the HLF would enable us to bring Alfred's life and works to a much larger audience, which is something that he would dearly have loved to have happened in his own lifetime.
"Far too many people are unaware of Alfred's existence, let alone the importance of his work, so our first job is to engage them. Then, by telling them a little more about what Alfred did, we hope they will be as inspired by his story as we are."
As well as the festival, the Society also has plans for other initiatives to promote interest in Alfred in current and future generations. These include the setting up of a permanent display in Swindon and the facilitating of a link between South Marston School and another in India, reflecting Alfred's love of Indian culture.
"It's been hard work preparing our application," said Caroline, "but we have received positive and very encouraging feedback along the way. We are now keeping our fingers crossed because we really feel Alfred Williams still has much to offer culture and heritage in Swindon and beyond, and we think he can be a unifying force. We are really hoping to have the opportunity to prove it."
Decisions on both applications will be made by April.
The HLF bid included letters of support from prominent members of community groups and official bodies, and the society is both delighted and grateful to have received solid backing in this respect. Here is a selection of comments received:
Helen Miah, Head of Culture at Swindon Borough Council:
"I am delighted that the Society has formed and is developing plans to enable the community of Swindon to engage with local heritage... I am especially pleased to support this application as it recognises the importance of links with the Indian community and educational opportunities for young people."
Dr Mike Pringle, director of the Swindon Cultural Partnership:
"Your application to HLF shows huge imagination and courage, and these are both things that Swindon needs right now to help it re-establish its position in a complex, modern cultural landscape. The project will, as well as promoting a great, historic literary figure, reach out to the people of Swindon in a positive and uplifting way."
Daniel Rose, Chairman of the New Mechanics' Institution Preservation Trust:
"There has been a need in Swindon for many years to increase our celebration and interpretation of local history and heritage, particularly that linked to the railways, and this initiative is an important contribution to that."
John Payne, Somerset-based author of books on leading West Country writers:
"I fully support... this funding application, which it seems to me is well thought out, sensibly costed, and... already has the backing of many people in Swindon."
Paul Williams, Chairman of The Swindon Society:
"The Society wholeheartedly supports the need of raising the awareness of Alfred Williams... There has been a need in Swindon for many years to increase our recognition of Alfred Williams's local history and heritage... this project is an important contribution to that end."
Dinesh Patel, representing the Swindon Hindu Samaj:
"We in the Hindu Samaj Swindon take pride in that Alfred Williams, a local Swindonian, took interest in the culture and lives of the working folks in India... We will gladly assist and participate in any further development work and any celebration undertaken by the Alfred Williams Heritage Society."
Chris Davis, Headteacher at Lawn School, Swindon and a former head of the Swindon Association of Primary Headteachers:
"The Society's aims would provide a tremendous local resource for Swindon schools whose children would be able to study a celebrated local figure whose life incorporates so many aspects of the curriculum: geography, literacy, science, etc. With Alfred residing on the edge of Swindon and working in the Railway Works, this would also be a fanstastic opportunity for a local cross-curricular study which is sure to enthuse and motivate our children."
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