If you are interested in this please use the contact details within the article
Please find attached the latest press release from BBC History
Magazine
which I thought might be of interest to you and your members. I would be
grateful if you could distribute to anyone who you think may be interested
in supporting our campaign to raise awareness of the historical importance
of memorial inscriptions, and who might also be interested in taking part in
our search for Britain¹s most surprising, enigmatic or bizarre gravestone
epitaph.
www.bbcmagazinesbristol.com
PRESS RELEASE
23 July 2007
Grave matters spur national call for action
Grave concerns have led to a search for Britain¹s most surprising, enigmatic
or bizarre historical gravestone epitaph, to be launched on 24 July, by BBC History
Magazine.
The call for action aims to raise awareness and understanding of the
importance of gravestone inscriptions as Britain¹s gravestones come under
increasing danger.
Dave Musgrove, Editor of BBC History Magazine commented: ³Gravestones are
vital to learning about our family and local history and give us a unique
insight into the past. From accounts of bizarre deaths and witty last words,
to highlights of lives lived, personal assaults and biting social
commentary, they tell us some fascinating stories of past human life, and
that¹s exactly what we¹re asking people to find for us.²
It¹s estimated that there are around 6 million gravestones in England, but
less than half of these have been recorded, and a staggering 25,000 are
thought to be lost to weathering, relocation and vandalism every year.
Inscriptions on gravestones are a key and largely untapped family history
resource, complementing and adding to the data already available in burial
indexes, and often giving us information that has never before been
recorded.
Dr Richard Smart, Director of the National Archive of Memorial Inscriptions
(NAOMI), says: ³It¹s critical that the public understand the importance of
gravestone inscriptions, and get involved in helping us to record this often
overlooked but incredibly valuable historical information.²
The public are being asked to send in any OMysterious Memorials¹ they know
of or find to BBC History Magazine by 1 September 2007. Submissions must
include the text of the epitaph, along with a picture of the gravestone, and
details of where it is. The person who sends in the most surprising,
enigmatic or bizarre gravestone epitaph will win a Canon Digital IXUS 70
camera worth over £200.
-ENDS-
For further information and interviews, please contact:
Tabitha Morton
Head of Press & PR | BBC Magazines Bristol
T 0117 3148300 | M 07977 62817
E tabithamorton(a)bbcmagazinesbristol.com
W
www.bbchistorymagazine.com