CAHG Group of the month - overall winner for 2025 - have your say

As you will have seen from our website, this year CAHG has taken a slightly different approach to our awards, featuring one of our member groups each month based on nominations made by themselves or others.

With our 2025 Conference happening on Thursday 19th June 2025 at the University of Huddersfield, we want to announce one of these amazing groups as our group of the year.

This is where you come in as members of CAHG.

From 7th May to 21st May, we are asking you all to vote for the group that you feel deserves the overall award for 2025.  Please take a moment to follow the link here and nominate the group that you feel deserves to be the overall winner.

Please get involved to help us highlight the amazing work being done by CAHG members and the winning group will then be announced at the conference.

Over the last ten months, we have featured the following group:

July 2024 - Pope’s Grotto Preservation Trust

Pope’s Grotto Preservation Trust was established in 2014 to support the restoration, conservation and maintenance of this Grade II* listed grotto is all that remains of a once-famous Palladian villa and gardens created by Alexander Pope on the banks of the River Thames at Twickenham.

More information is here: https://dev.communityarchives.org.uk/content/awards/group-of-the-month-winners/july-2024-group-of-the-month-popes-grotto-preservation-trust

August 2024 - Our Warwickshire

The Our Warwickshire Community History website’s focus is community involvement and engagement. The website is both an online archive (hosting a number of images from the County Record Office and museum, along with images submitted by the Warwickshire Community) but is also an online portal to connect people with similar interests.

More information is here: https://dev.communityarchives.org.uk/content/awards/group-of-the-month-winners/august-2024-group-of-the-month-our-warwickshire

September 2024 - Birmingham People’s History Archive

The Birmingham People’s History Archive was established in 2021 with collections of materials related to the social history of the West Midlands and Britain acquired over two decades. They are a small team of dedicated amateurs who have undertaken this work as a means of preserving the rich industrial and social heritage of the West Midlands for younger generations now and in the future.

More information is here: https://dev.communityarchives.org.uk/content/awards/group-of-the-month-winners/september-2024-group-of-the-month-birmingham-peoples-history-archive

October 2024 - Windrush in the Far South West

Windrush in the Far South West grew out of the The Box’s Culture Club initiative which was designed to allow people from the Global Majority to look at what was in their collection. The group were particularly struck by images from the 1950s showing people of Caribbean ancestry arriving in Plymouth and became instantly interested in the stories of these arrivals.

More information is here: https://dev.communityarchives.org.uk/content/awards/group-of-the-month-winners/october-2024-group-of-the-month-windrush-in-the-far-south-west

November 2024 - West Wales Veterans Archive

Age Cymru Dyfed is a charity supporting people aged fifty years and older throughout the West Wales region. A grant from the Armed Force Covenant Fund Trust enabled them to develop the West Wales Veterans’ Archive (WWVA). This collection features written accounts, oral histories and photographs documenting veterans’ experiences as well as artwork and poetry created by them.

More information is here: https://dev.communityarchives.org.uk/content/awards/group-of-the-month-winners/november-2024-group-of-the-month-west-wales-veterans-archive

December 2024 - Leeds Children’s Theatre Archive Group

Leeds Children’s Theatre Archive Group was first created back in May 2000 with the specific purpose of creating an archive that captured the long history of our drama society; somewhere to share all those programmes, posters, press clippings and photographic images that have been gathering dust in our homes for many decades.

More information is here: https://dev.communityarchives.org.uk/content/awards/group-of-the-month-winners/december-2024-group-of-the-month-leeds-childrens-theatre-archive-group

January 2025 - Compas and the Paul Polansky Archive Project (BARIPEN)

Compas is a charity dedicated to promoting social inclusion, education, and cultural understanding. One of its key initiatives is the Paul Polansky Archive Project (BARIPEN), which focuses on preserving and sharing the history, heritage, and struggles of the Roma community.

More information is here: https://dev.communityarchives.org.uk/content/awards/group-of-the-month-winners/january-2025-group-of-the-month-compas

February 2025 - Cork LGBT Archive

The Cork LGBT Archive gathers, preserves and shares the rich history of Cork’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender communities, bringing this previously hidden history to light and making Cork’s queer history impossible to ignore. They have a physical collection, a digital archive and an outreach programme.

More information is here: https://dev.communityarchives.org.uk/content/awards/group-of-the-month-winners/february-2025-group-of-the-month-cork-lgbt-archive

March 2025 - Dreadnought South West

Dreadnought South West is an intersectional feminist arts and heritage charity based in Exeter, working when and where they can across the South West region. They have made theatre shows, radio and audio content and are the guardians of The Rebellious Sounds Archive, the UK’s only collection of women and non-binary people’s oral stories of activism and social change making in the South West region.

More information is here: https://dev.communityarchives.org.uk/content/awards/group-of-the-month-winners/march-2025-group-of-the-month-dreadnought-south-west

April 2025 - Watercress Line Heritage Railway Group

The Watercress Line Heritage Railway’s Education and Outreach Team is dedicated to providing learning experiences that bring history to life. They offer a variety of programmes tailored for schools, colleges, and other learners, allowing participants to explore the rich history of the railway and its surrounding areas. They also develop and deliver community engagement projects that work with a wide range and variety of community groups.

More information is here: https://dev.communityarchives.org.uk/content/awards/group-of-the-month-winners/april-2025-group-of-the-month-watercress-line-heritage-railway-group

We are now looking for 'group of the month' for next year

If you’re interested in nominating a group to be our group of month next year, then please do so using the link here: https://dev.communityarchives.org.uk/content/awards/application-form-2