Do you have any stories about the Royal Albert Bridge, Saltash Ferry or the Tamar Bridge? If so, the Bridging the Tamar Centre would like to hear from you.
Opening to the public in 2019, the Centre’s archive now has more than 40,000 images covering a wide range of subjects. These include the construction and operation of the Tamar and Royal Albert Bridges, the social history of Saltash and Saltash Passage (St Budeaux), the Saltash Ferry, the Torpoint Ferry, the Railways (Cornwall Railway, Great Western Railway and Saltash Station), World War Two and Normandy Way.
The Centre is also building up a fantastic array of objects and oral histories donated by the public and is looking to add to its collection.
As part of the Tamar Bridge’s 60th Anniversary we invited people to share their memories about the Bridge with us. We recorded some incredible stories and we are now looking to hear from other people with family stories or interesting artefacts relating to the Royal Albert Bridge, Saltash Ferry or Tamar Bridge.
The team are particularly keen to add stories which relate to any of the crossings between Saltash Passage and Saltash, and are also interested in any anecdotes which may have been passed down about the Royal Albert Bridge.
They would also like to see any artefacts people may have relating to either Bridge.
The crossings play a vital role in the lives of the communities in and around Cornwall and Plymouth. We want to ensure that the stories of the people who lived and worked on the Bridges and the Ferry are recorded so they can be shared with others in the future.
Anyone who has a story to tell or an interesting artefact and would like to share them is invited to come along to the Tamar Bridge Visitor and Learning Centre between 10 am and 3pm on Saturday, 20 May where they can speak to one of the history experts and, if they are happy, to have their session recorded.
This is being held as a drop in event – there is no need to book in advance“ said Mary. “If anyone does not have time to do a recording on the day, we can arrange an alternative mutually convenient time.
“We can also arrange to meet separately with anyone who has a story but is unable to come on 20 May. Please e-mail us at visit@tamarcrossings.org.uk to arrange a convenient date and time”.
