Rayleigh and Wickford MP and Patron of the Rayleigh Town Museum, Mark Francois, dropped by the museum recently in order to see their special exhibition on life on the Home Front in Rayleigh during World War Two.
Mark viewed a number of exhibits including photographs of Rayleigh taken during the war, documents advising the Rayleigh Urban District Council on what to do in the event of a German invasion and a number of other artefacts including some weapons from the time. Mark also saw documents in relation to the rationing that people had to undergo during war time.
The exhibition was brought to life by Trevor, a volunteer from the Hertfordshire Home Guard Historical Re-enactment Society, who was present in his Home Guard uniform with a variety of de-activated weapons and was able to answer questions from visitors about what it was like to serve in the Home Guard during World War Two. The exhibition, which ran for several weeks, was very popular and received hundreds of visitors, including parties of local school children keen to learn about the history of the war in their community.
Commenting on his visit to the museum, Mark Francois said:
“One of the really nice features about our new museum in Rayleigh is their ingenuity in constantly updating their exhibitions, in order to make them relevant to the visiting public. As we approach this time of remembrance, I think it particularly fitting that the museum laid on an exhibition about life on the Home Front in Rayleigh during the war, to give people today some idea of the privations that people had to go through in order to resist the Nazi threat. I give the museum full marks for laying on such a good presentation and I would also like to thank Trevor for providing a special extra something in his re-created role as a member of the Home Guard.”