Melksham Oak hosts special history book launch event

A special event to celebrate students’ involvement in creating the book, Melksham’s War, which tells the story of Melksham through World War II, was held this month at Melksham Oak Community School.  

The book, researched and developed with local history group Melksham Remembers, is a diary of everyday life in and around Melksham between 1939 and 1945. Students from Melksham Oak contributed a chapter, and the book also includes artwork and letters from local primary school children. 

Those involved in the creation of the book and special guests, including representatives from the British Legion, joined staff and students for the celebration event on 9th July. Students performed a dance interpretation of Goodnight Mr Tom and read a selection of poems. 

Melksham Remembers thanked the schools for their involvement with five £100 bursaries for Melksham Oak students and seven £100 awards for each of the primary schools that were involved. 

The primary schools that contributed to the book were: Aloeric Primary School, Bowerhill Primary School, Forest & Sandridge Primary School, The Manor School, Seend Primary School, St. George’s Primary in Semington and Shaw Primary School.   

Principal at Melksham Oak Community School, Haris Hussain, said, “The development of this book has been a real community effort and we are delighted that our students have been able to play a role in bringing it to life and that we have been given the opportunity to bring everyone together to celebrate it. 

“Melksham Remembers does important work to make sure our local history is understood and not forgotten. By involving our young people, we can be certain that the lives and efforts of Melksham people throughout war time will continue to be valued for generations to come.” 

A member of Melksham Remembers, Ray Heard, said, “We are all incredibly grateful to everyone who has been involved in Melksham’s War. It’s a wonderful record of our local community’s strength, determination and solidarity through the most challenging of times. It’s something we can all be proud of. 

“Melksham Oak students and staff have kindly offered their support for many years now and we look forward to continuing working with them on future projects. There is so much rich history to share that we have plenty to keep working on. Next on the list for our group is a talking heads video with individuals who have personal memories of war time so watch out for that.” 

This latest project is part of an ongoing relationship between Melksham Oak and Melksham Remembers.  

Back in 2018, Melksham Remembers curated a one-off exhibition to mark 100 years since the end of World War I and subsequently produced a book. Melksham Oak students were involved in the recording of an audio book version.