Following the success of Elaine Pritchard's first Rebel Women talk and afternoon tea last month, she is now trying something different - an Orton & Spooner breakfast talk on a Saturday morning early i...

A legendary fairground ride, which includes work by Burton’s own Orton & Spooner, has been designated the top priority for restoration by national organisation the Fairground Heritage Trust.Hopes are ...

There are less than two weeks to go until we perform Against The National Interest - our story of World War One conscientious objector Vale Rawlings - at Derby Museum and Art Gallery as part of the 20...

In Costa Rica there are approximately 19,000 non-speakers. These are people with autism, cerebral palsy and other disabilities. The major problem?Because non-speakers can't reliably communicate vocall...

Join local author, playwright and historian Elaine Pritchard, for the latest installment of Forgotten Burton Stories: Rebel Women. This brand-new...

Derby’s annual peace week event in September will this year showcase the story of a First World War conscientious objector from Burton upon Trent, called Vale Rawlings. The story – called ‘Against The National Interest’ – is being taken to Derby Museum, on Sunday afternoon September 20th, by Elaine Pritchard of the Vale Rawlings Project […]

Dr Trevor James, editor of the Mid-Trent and Mercia Historian, has reviewed the Vale Rawlings book, Friendship, Love & Truth, and said he highly recommends it as a carefully researched and meticulous ...

Author and playwright Elaine Pritchard tells the story of Vale Rawlings, a World War One conscientious objector from Burton-on-Trent in this talk with dramatic, live performance elements. Why was this...

A Guernsey woman who arranged for more than 25,000 packages to be sent to British prisoners of war during World War One could have a UK housing development named after her. However, before this can ha...

The search is on to track down any surviving relatives of the amazing, Guernsey-born Lily Thomas.Lily is one of our forgotten Burton stories and she is well overdue for recognition for the way she too...

By Elaine PritchardInternational Workers Memorial Day was marked by a service and wreath-laying at the National Memorial Arboretum near Alrewas in Staffordshire on April 28th. It was the 10th year tha...

In July 2024, I shared my plans to tell the story of forgotten Staffordshire trade unionist, Vale Rawlings, in a play and a book. You can read that story here. Elaine Pritchard, Friendship, Love an…

Elaine Pritchard looks ahead to International Women's Day 2026 in Burton upon Trent.I'm delighted to be attending the annual International Women's Day event in Burton upon Trent on Friday, March 6. Or...

Explaining the story of trade unionist Vale Rawling and what he did in Burton upon Trent, East Staffordshire, UK in the early 20th century.

In this article we look at recent donations to charities in Burton upon Trent through the books Friendship, Love & Truth and Labour of Love. You can find out how to buy copies of these books and learn...

The Vale Rawlings book Friendship, Love & Truth, written by Elaine Pritchard, has been officially launched at Burton upon Trent public library.The book can now be bought, priced at £15.99, with all pr...

A message of neighbourly solidarity is thriving in Birmingham against a backdrop of racist intimidation

Raising funds for two Burton charities through publishing a book about the life and times of forgotten local man Vale Rawlings (1887-1940).

Vale Rawlings was a pioneer in the local trade union movement and a committed member of the Burton Trades Council. This month, the successor to that organisation, now called East Staffordshire Trades ...

Remembering to Help, Helping to Remember, an exhibition funded by an SSLH grant, has opened at the Heugh Battery Museum in Hartlepool. Michael Reeve reports. Stories of the struggles, heroism and s…

YouTube video by East Staffordshire Borough Council

We're delighted to be taking an increasing number of requests from groups and organisations looking for local history talks and presentations in the Midlands. Author and playwright Elaine Pritchard is...

For a few weeks in the summer of 1914, the name of Vale Rawlings was familiar to newspaper readers across the country. The story of his support for a group of striking teenage factory girls in Burton-...

In order to make as much profit as possible for our two nominated charities, YMCA Burton and SARAC, we want to cover the essential costs of printing and publishing Friendship, Love & Truth - The Vale ...

We've reached an important milestone in the journey towards publishing our book about Vale Rawlings and his life and times in Burton upon Trent. A first draft of the manuscript has been completed by a...

Wed 13th Aug 2025 @ 7:30 pm - Elle Woods is blonde, brilliant, and unstoppable! Bursting with high-energy music, hilarious moments, and heartfelt surprises, Legally Blonde The Musical is a fabulously ...