We are a Heritage Lottery Funded history project exploring Dorset’s ancient pathways by walking in the shoes of the Saxon pilgrim, St Aldhelm and a soldier training for the First World War. We will turn what we learn into a fun, interactive treasure hunt to share with the Dorset public.
Friday, 19 December 2014
Thursday, 18 December 2014
Christmas Party 2014!
16 December 2014
After over 15 months of research, Geocaching and adventures around Dorset, the group had a well-deserved celebration of their achievements. With plenty of delicious snacks going around and games of Charades and Pictionary, the WITS team enjoyed getting into the festive mood. We also had the return of volunteers like Jenny and Edward, taking a short break from their studies, to join in the fun!
Here are a selection of pictures from the event:
After over 15 months of research, Geocaching and adventures around Dorset, the group had a well-deserved celebration of their achievements. With plenty of delicious snacks going around and games of Charades and Pictionary, the WITS team enjoyed getting into the festive mood. We also had the return of volunteers like Jenny and Edward, taking a short break from their studies, to join in the fun!
Here are a selection of pictures from the event:
Press Release: Walking in their Shoes gets People Walking
18 December 2014
The Walking in their Shoes team, a youth-led project which
brought together a mixture of 15-25 year olds to set an interactive history
trail walking in the shoes of a First World War Soldier and the Anglo-Saxon
monk, St. Aldhelm, are pleased to officially launch their collection of
leaflets to promote their walks to the wider public and encourage them to walk
along the route. The leaflets were designed by Wallis Agency in Poundbury,
after the group received enthusiastic feedback from Geocaching participants
about the contents of the history boxes.
The cache contents are all developed, researched and
designed by volunteers in the project over the course of almost nine months.
They feature a series of flashcards which contain detailed facts and stories
about the life of a soldier from when he registered to join the frontline to
the terrible realities of what life was like in the trenches. Participants can
use a GPS device or a map and clues to locate the containers. Placed at
specific locations relevant to this period in history, the caches will hopefully
ensure that the memory of those who sacrificed their lives will be appreciated
by people of all ages from our insightful walk through time. Dorchester Tourist
Information Centre is the first in the county to distribute the leaflets
designed to accompany the walk.
One Geocacher commented: “We enjoyed doing another one of
this series: it is difficult to imagine what those first 2 weeks were like for
soldiers. It is clear you have put a lot of work into this cache and series -
you should feel very proud.”
Further positive feedback included: “The information on the
cache page really brought the history of the soldier to life. I could picture
what life would have been like. We are all so proud of all those who fought for
us and it's a good time of the year to remember all who were involved and
affected by all wars.”
Lorna Johnson, Project Officer for Walking in their Shoes,
has been delighted with the feedback so far and said, “The young team worked
really hard with partners at the Military Keep Museum and Bovington Tank Museum
to put together a great walk. It is a great activity to do in Dorchester and
Moreton and proves young people have a passion for their local heritage and are
very successful at telling important local stories in new and exciting ways.”
The project is also launching its second walk in the county,
and people will soon be able to walk in the shoes of St. Aldhelm, first Bishop
of Sherborne. They shine a light on this important but little known Anglo Saxon
hero from 705. The trail will start in Sherborne and continue through
Cerne Abbas, Wimborne Minster, Wareham and finish at St. Aldhelm’s Head.
Geocaching is an interactive and challenging activity where
users go on an outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices.
Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find
the geocache (container) hidden at that location. For more information, visit http://www.geocaching.com/.
To find out more about Walking in their Shoes, visit our
website http://www.walkingintheirshoes.co.uk/
and blog http://walkingintheirshoes.blogspot.co.uk/.
Follow us on Twitter @DorsetWitS.
ENDS
About Walking in their Shoes
Walking in their Shoes is a group of 20 strong volunteers,
aged 15-25, who have researched and designed new activities for members of the
public to engage in the history of Anglo Saxon and First World War Dorset. The
project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Contact
Lorna Johnson, Project Officer, Walking in their Shoes
T: 01305 757027
Match of the Century
By Jack Welch, Volunteer Press Officer
10 December 2014
As the First World War centenary commemorations continue, the team at WITS, having developed a strong reputation after their success of the Corn Exchange event (which you can read about here) were thrilled to be speaking at what was billed as Dorchester's 'event of the year'. The special football match, hosted at Dorchester's Avenue Stadium and played between soldiers versus Dorchester's Town FC, invited the group to read an opening narration of the scene where British and German soldiers called a one-day truce in Christmas 1914 and play a friendly game of football.
Jack played the role as lead narrator and Douglas and Kayleigh supported as German and British soldiers respectively. In the weeks running up to the event, the group taking part in the evening had a series of intensive rehearsal sessions, led by our Saxon expert, Pippa, in order to get prepared with the choreography and help with any issues the main actors may have had.
The evening itself presented its own challenges, as a chill in the air had made conditions outside less friendly and spots of rain began recurring. Moreover, our part in the show was the very highlight of the event, the pressure was on. Being the professionals the group are though, we all made it with only a few blips that were easily taken care of.
Allen Knott, Chairman of DYA and Community Director of the football club, wrote praising the group's efforts on the evening and said "I have to say I was the proudest man on the field. Our young representatives, together with their leaders, were superb and the clear message they gave was well received by the crowd."
"We are all indebted to them for the work they put into the event and I add my personal thanks to each and every one of them."
P.S. Have you seen this month's Dorchester Life yet? Pick up December's issue to see an article, featuring us!
10 December 2014
As the First World War centenary commemorations continue, the team at WITS, having developed a strong reputation after their success of the Corn Exchange event (which you can read about here) were thrilled to be speaking at what was billed as Dorchester's 'event of the year'. The special football match, hosted at Dorchester's Avenue Stadium and played between soldiers versus Dorchester's Town FC, invited the group to read an opening narration of the scene where British and German soldiers called a one-day truce in Christmas 1914 and play a friendly game of football.Jack played the role as lead narrator and Douglas and Kayleigh supported as German and British soldiers respectively. In the weeks running up to the event, the group taking part in the evening had a series of intensive rehearsal sessions, led by our Saxon expert, Pippa, in order to get prepared with the choreography and help with any issues the main actors may have had.The evening itself presented its own challenges, as a chill in the air had made conditions outside less friendly and spots of rain began recurring. Moreover, our part in the show was the very highlight of the event, the pressure was on. Being the professionals the group are though, we all made it with only a few blips that were easily taken care of.
Allen Knott, Chairman of DYA and Community Director of the football club, wrote praising the group's efforts on the evening and said "I have to say I was the proudest man on the field. Our young representatives, together with their leaders, were superb and the clear message they gave was well received by the crowd."
"We are all indebted to them for the work they put into the event and I add my personal thanks to each and every one of them."
P.S. Have you seen this month's Dorchester Life yet? Pick up December's issue to see an article, featuring us!
Thursday, 4 December 2014
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