Poster girls, 60 years on
Whilst the Know Your Bristol events have been fantastic at gathering memories and objects of Bristol’s past, they have also proved to be popular social events for local communities, bringing old friends together, sometimes after several years apart, to discuss their memories and catch up.
Know Your South Bristol was a particularly heart warming example of this, with several people who had moved away from the area travelling back to share their stories and reminisce about the past.
The focus of this event, more so than any other, was on the history of the community and people of Knowle West. In view of this, the photo chosen for the flyer was one of the St Barnabas Church Girls hockey team- a typical community scene, taken by the Knowle photographer George Gallop.
The photograph was taken 60 years earlier and whilst, sadly, 4 of the girls in the photo have died, 3 have remained good friends and after seeing themselves on the publicity flyer (and feeling very much like local celebrities!), they came along to the event to share their stories and of course pose for a photo with the flyer.
60 years on from the photo on the flyer. From left to right, Pat Hall (77), Mavis Barnes (78) and Shirley Pearson (77).
Their story is a remarkable one and a wonderful example of the tight knit and long standing friendships that originated in the Knowle West community, have lasted over the years and were evident at the Know Your South Bristol event. The three girls, Pat Hall, Marvis Barnes and Shirley Pearson, became friends as members of the St Barnabas youth club and despite Mrs Barnes moving to Northen England and even to South Africa with her husband, they have remained good friends over the years and were thrilled to see themselves on the publicity material.
The story goes to show that it is not just historical buildings and events that make up Bristol’s history, but also the smaller, more personal stories-those that Know Your Bristol has focused on collecting, which are just as fascinating and important to understanding and exploring community history and preserving local heritage.