2013 Our Centenary Year!

2013 - Our Centenary Year!

Bedfordshire & Luton Archives Service will be celebrating a milestone birthday in 2013 – one hundred years of collecting and preserving records and making archives available for everyone to use. We have seen many changes since we were established by Dr. Herbert Fowler at Shire Hall, Bedford in 1913. The quantity and range of our holdings has increased enormously, while of course the web now brings our service to people all over the world.

Planning for such an important event obviously takes time and so we have already begun to organise an exciting range of events and activities to celebrate our first one hundred years, including major exhibitions at Bedford and Luton, a quiz night and an auction. We also hope to involve local history societies and Bedfordshire Historical Record Society (founded a year earlier, in 1912). To start the ball rolling we are asking everyone to nominate a document| or type of document which means something to them so we can put the results on-line and possibly use some of them in our exhibitions and in a commemorative calendar.

So, please watch this space! We will let you know what is going on via our newsletter, our website and Twitter|. Any suggestions or offers of help will be gratefully received!