I have agreed to take on the role of Village Recorder for Occold on behalf of Suffolk Local History Council.  The role of the Recorder is to ensure the survival of valuable material for future local historians by:

• Seeing that the present is adequately recorded at local level

• Being on the look-out for items of historical interest which might be overlooked or lost for ever.

But I cannot do this on my own! I need the help of local organisations and individuals to tell me about what goes on. Whilst I get a lot of this already as material for this website, I don’t see everything! Some suggestions as to what you can tell me about:

• Primary School, Pre School and Youth Club – Foreign exchange visits, field trips, participation in regional or national events for e.g. sport, dance, theatre etc. Significant changes to school curriculum

• Parish Council – Major changes within the parish including roads, boundaries, footpaths and changes to existing buildings

• St Michaels, Jubilee Baptist – Any major changes to buildings or noteworthy events

• ORAC – Major events together with the posters, significant changes to Village Hall, Playing Field, Play Area and Village Green, updates on Village Fete, Craft Fair and Luncheon Club

• WI, Football Club, Carpet Bowls etc – Any major events or achievements e.g. trophies, programme of speakers etc

• Village Hall Classes – Any major event, exhibition or participation in national or regional events

• Individuals – Any significant achievement or representation in sport, theatre, dance etc – don’t be modest or tell me about someone you know. Keep on the lookout for any material, photos etc that may have recorded Occold’s past – its people, places and events particularly if you find old newspaper articles.

SLHC do request a one page report annually in October from Recorders to summarise their parish. I will be retaining all this material in digital form and will produce an annual CD which will be made available to Suffolk Records Office and anyone who would like a copy.

I will also be making much of the material available on Occold website through this Recorder page. I look forward to everyone helping me to preserve our history for the future

Barry Woods, villagerecorder@occold.com