The “Letters of Hope” exhibition opened in November 2019 and was scheduled to run for six months until April 2020. Due to its popularity, it was extended by another month to “VE75” Bank Holiday weekend (8th-10th May 2020) to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of “Victory In Europe Day“. Unfortunately, the Coronavirus crisis has led to the indefinite closure of the Museum, so no final end-date has been set.
The exhibition occupies the “Victorian Schoolroom” Gallery at the Erewash Museum and comprises multiple elements:
-
-
- The Letter Wall – an innovative wall display occupying the whole of one wall of the gallery and displaying dozens of letters to illustrate the wide range of letters received with several being highlighted in detail.
- Story Boards – telling the chronological story of the lives of Hope & Paul Robinson and the Letters campaign.
- Family Artefacts – poignant family objects including a book and a photo wallet carried by Paul Robinson throughout his period of captivity and four of the five postcards he was able to post home. Also, family photographs and the red velvet bonnet worn by their daughter, Penny, the day that her father arrived home from the Far East in October 1945.
- A Wartime “Home Office”- a well-equipped desk where a busy person like Hope Robinson might have dealt with her correspondence during the blackout.
- Objects from the Collection – A folder that protected the letters for over 70 years and examples of correspondence between Hope and POW families.
- Interactive Letter Display – A tablet computer with a selection of letters both scanned and read aloud by members of the project team.
- Online Information, Puzzles and Quizzes – the tablet computer also contains a range of timeline, historical information and quizzes about the Far Eat war and the POWs.
- “Sounds of World War Two” – an atmospheric “soundscape” of music and radio broadcasts illustrating how people in Britain were informed and entertained during the war.
-