A HERITAGE project in Throwleigh, which has won more than £9,000 to exhibit and preserve an archive of the parish, is asking for assistance from the public to reveal the story behind a photograph.

The Throwleigh Archive is interested in hearing from anyone who can identify the uniform of the man on the left of the photograph — is he a policeman or a postman or neither?

Project secretary Annabel Walker said the photograph, taken at the well known location of Wonson, Throwleigh, was one of a number about which little information was known.

'This is an example of the kind of photo that is turning up which is a bit of a mystery,' she said. 'There is some very interesting stuff coming in.'

The project has won funding from the Local Heritage Initiative — a partnership between the Heritage Lottery Fund, Nationwide Building Society and the Countryside Agency.

Material gathered from local people will go on display in the village hall next April and will include many fascinating old photos, school records and historical anecdotes as well as contemporary pictures of life in the village.

Volunteer archive members are busy cataloguing, electronically copying and storing any material as it is lent, the aim being to return original photographs and documents to their owners as swiftly as possible.

The high quality copies will be used in the exhibition and subsequently reproduced in a book, before being deposited in a suitable archive.

Local Heritage Initiative (LHI) Advisor for the South West Chris Burke said: 'The Throwleigh Archive is a perfect example of what the initiative is all about, with local people investigating and promoting various aspects of their local heritage.

'I very much look forward to seeing the exhibition when it is ready.'

More than halfway into the project, many new stories and images have come to light. One such tale concerned Jesse, who was described in a memoir as having served the village well for many years, only to be briskly dismissed when she became 'stugged' (stuck in a bog) and died. Only after some investigation did the archive volunteers discover that Jesse was not a human inhabitant of the village but a donkey!

The Heritage Lottery Fund has provided the LHI with £7,960,000 for the period 1999-2001 and has agreed in principle to continue funding it for the next seven years.

The Throwleigh Archive is actively seeking information on life in the parish and volunteer help. Calls are welcome either to Angela Annaly (01647 231560) or Annabel Walker (01647 231142)

If anyone is seeking funding for a heritage project in their community or wants to find out more about the LHI they should call Rob Leek on 0117 973 9966 or e-mail: rob.leek@countryside.

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