Exhibition about Emsworth woman's Valerie Bacon's day-to-day wartime experiences has moved to Portsmouth

‘Living with War in Emsworth has spent the last two months on display at Emsworth Museum, and has recently moved homes to the Portsmouth History Centre on the second floor of the Central Library, where it is now on show.

The exhibition is drawn from the diaries of Valerie Bacon written during the years of the Second World War. Valerie was only 18 years old when she moved to Emsworth on the eve of the war with her mum.

Her diaries, which were never meant to record the war as a historical timeline, have proved invaluable in forming an image her daily life, capturing elements of the war and the impact it had on Valerie and life in Emsworth.

There are many references to Portsmouth within the exhibition and due to Valerie's love of acting and the theatre, there is a counter display which has some of the photographs of her local theatrical performances from the Valerie Bacon Archive.

The diaries give people an understanding of some of the events that took place during that time period including the ‘Big Freeze’ in January 1940 and what happened when a bomb fell near their house. There is also a recording of how the news spread about the bombing and what the reaction was to it.

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How news of the bombing of Portsmouth was received in Emsworth, but more importantly how everyday life carried on during extraordinary times.

There is a talk, 'Unwrapping the Valerie Bacon Archive', which will accompany the exhibition and it will be presented by Nigel and Wendy Gossop who had a vital role in curating the exhibition.

The talk will look at the background to the archive and it will cover some of the difficult choices the curatorial team had when having to select what made the final cut and what did not. It will also cover some of Valerie’s extraordinary family tree.

The talk is in the Menuhin Room of the Central Library on Wednesday 30 November at 10.30am. Places are free, but booking is advisable. To book, please contact the Portsmouth History Centre on 023 9268 8046 or you can email: [email protected]