Local young people are set to uncover the history of the great British seaside thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), it is being announced today.

The North Tyneside Voluntary Organisations Development Agency today received a grant of £22,100 for their holiday inspired project ‘A Day on the Beach’.

A group of passionate young volunteers will work with the community to preserve the heritage of local beach resorts and remember the important role they played in local people’s lives especially after WWII. Concentrating on Whitley Bay and Tynemouth the young people will look back and record people’s memories of what holidays were like for people over seventy years ago.

Ivor Crowther, Head of HLF North East, said: “We at the Heritage Lottery Fund are pleased to be supporting ‘A Day on the Beach’ which will equip the young project leaders with skills to help them in the future. This project not only provides a great opportunity for young people to capture people’s fascinating memories but also give different sections of society the chance to work together, sharing stories and experiences of the North East’s seaside heritage.

Robin Fry, Volunteer Centre Manager, VODA is delighted to receive support from the Heritage Lottery Fund for this exciting project. "We are committed to providing new opportunities for young people to give up their time to benefit others whilst also developing useful skills along the way. The combination of North Tyneside’s rich heritage and passionate young people should result in a fantastic experience for all.”

Project partner ‘Remembering the Past, Resourcing the Future’ – a community group in the North East - will work with the young people to help collect and record people’s stories, experiences and memories of the North East’s seaside resorts.

As part of the project the young people will learn new media techniques and learn how to use digital equipment to bring their discoveries together. They will then use these as a basis for a series of short animated films based on the stories that they have been told.

Original photographs and memorabilia will be brought together and curated into a photographic exhibition recounting some of the precious seaside moments. The collection will then be uploaded onto a website, developed and managed by the volunteers for everyone to use.

Capturing the essence of the 1940s and early 50s holiday, the project ‘A Day on the Beach’ will help unfold some of the memories with a seaside themed launch event and allow everyone, from grandparents to grandchildren, to enjoy celebrate and share the past and with the wider community.

Further information

Laura Bates, HLF Press Office on 020 7591 6027 or lbates@hlf.org.uk

Robin Fry, VODA at Robin.Fry@voda.org.uk