01 February 2016

The future of the ANLHS



The Future of ANLHS: A Letter from the Chairman and Executive

Dear Member,


The ANLHS meeting at the Lit & Phil on 27th February is a Members’ Meeting. As in earlier years it will begin with a presentation – this time by ‘History Wardrobe’ - and the Members’ Meeting proper will follow. There will be one item on the agenda and this is the future of ANLHS.


We have reached the position where, regretfully, the current Executive Committee cannot continue and will be standing down at the AGM in November 2016.

The reality is that we have not been able to form a full active committee for some time. One member of the committee is currently doing three jobs! We have no Secretary and ideally we should have a Programme Secretary as well as a Minutes Secretary and Publicity Officer. According to the Constitution (amended November 2012) we should have a committee of 6 officers (chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, treasurer, editor of T&T and editor of website) as well up to 7 additional members. Currently we have 9 committee members, some with health problems and Michael Thompson and Jane Bowen gave notice of their retirements long before the last AGM.

We have put out several appeals for people to join the ANLHS Executive committee over the last three years but without success. In addition, specific invitations have been sent to likely individuals (9  in total) all with an interest in local history or North East history, inviting them to join the ANLHS Executive. Although a couple initially expressed some interest, none have actually volunteered to join the committee. Recent experience also tells us that there is very limited interest in participating in ANLHS business meetings. Some previous Members’ Meetings have been reasonably well attended but many people have left after the Speaker’s presentation. Attendance at recent AGMs has been very poor with well below 50% of member societies being represented (out of around 50 member societies, 17 attended at the 2014 AGM and 16 at the 2015 AGM).

In addition, our membership is diminishing. Four fewer LHSs renewed their membership of ANLHS this year.  The (very) few larger LHSs function independently but many smaller LHSs are struggling to survive. Over the last few years at least one has closed each year. The problems of many local societies are mainly due to demography with membership becoming increasingly elderly but with young people not getting involved.  They are not interested in talks in village halls or in local history journals. ANLHS came into existence in 1966 with the objective of encouraging the growth of the study of local history within the county.  At that time, hardly any local history societies existed – now there are about 50.  It could be argued therefore that ANLHS has done its job. Although it is a cliché, times are changing dramatically and, as an organisation, we cannot go on as in the middle of the last century.

The current Executive committee is therefore of the view that, despite their best efforts in recent years, ANLHS cannot continue beyond 2016.  Accordingly, an Extraordinary General Meeting will be arranged at Stannington village hall for Saturday 30th April where a motion to close ANLHS will be put and where decisions about an orderly closure of the Association will be taken.

The Members’ Meeting following the ‘History Wardrobe’ presentation on 27th February is intended to provide members with the opportunity to express their views on this situation.  If members are not attending this event we would welcome written observations and comment to the above address or email address by February 24th 2016.

Yours sincerely,
Michael Barke (Chairman) on behalf of ANLHS Executive Committee.

Round the County Day


Death at Dawn

Death at Dawn


The real-life story of William Hunter comes to life in this performance to mark his anniversary.
Death at Dawn promotional poster

Dates

Friday 26 February
Saturday 27 February
Monday 29 February
Tuesday 1 March
Wednesday 2 March

Visitor information

Performance times
All performances begin at 7.30pm.
There is an additional matinee performance on Saturday 27 February starting at 2.30pm.
Price
£10 per adult
£8 - concessions
Tickets can be bought online by clicking the link at the top of the page. You can also purchase from the museum shop or by calling the ticket hotline, (0191) 259 2743 Mon-Fri 9.30am - 4.30pm.
Location
The Great Hall

About

Based on the real-life story of William Hunter, Death at Dawn takes you into a world where an army shot its own men.
North Shields born Hunter was executed in France, 1916 for desertion and this poignant production tackles the subject head-on, 100 years on from his death.
The sudden death of the play's director Jackie Fielding last year aged 47 gives this award-winning play's revival an even greater poignancy. Performed as theatre-in-the-round with its original cast including four North East drama students, Death at Dawn is now directed by Jackie's friend Neil Armstrong.

Gertrude Bell and the ‘Woman Question’

Gertrude Bell and the ‘Woman Question’

A talk exploring the contradictions in Gertrude Bell’s life
early 20 century portrait of explorer Gertrude Bell

Dates

Tuesday 23 February

Visitor information

5.30pm - 6.45pm
Speaker: Helen Berry, Professor of British History at Newcastle University and exhibition contributor.
Please note: this lecture will take place in the Curtis Auditorium, Herschel Building, Newcastle University
Free
No booking required
Part of the Extraordinary Gertrude Bell exhibition lecture programme

About

In conjunction with our new exhibition The Extraordinary Gertrude Bell, this lecture will explore the paradoxes and contradictions in Bell’s life from the perspective of women’s history.
A contemporary of T E Lawrence (‘Lawrence of Arabia’), until recently Bell has been little known beyond the specialist world of Middle Eastern archaeology, and yet her legacy is significant. Gertrude Bell played a major role in the political settlement that led to the formation of modern-day Iraq.
The Extraordinary Gertrude Bell was created by this museum in partnership with Newcastle University, where the Gertrude Bell Archive is held.