WILTSHIRE LOCAL HISTORY FORUM DAY SCHOOL
The fifth annual Day School of the Wiltshire Local History Forum was held at La Retraite School, Salisbury, on Saturday 22nd April 1989. It was chaired by Michael Sheppard and Dr. John Chandler. The subject, this year, was "Getting Yourself Into Print" and featured five guestspeakers.
.
The first was Warminster's resident historian Danny Howell, a member of the Forum, who has researched and written a dozen successful books documenting the past of Warminster and the Wylye Valley. The title of his lecture, which he illustrated with slides, was "Do It Yourself - From Manuscript To Publication Day". He concentrated on how to finance and produce a local history book, with particular reference to publicity and marketing. Mr. Howell said he was anxious to encourage those researching local history to publish their work, thus sharing it with other historians everywhere.
.
After a break for coffee and biscuits, the second speaker for the morning session was Brian Sheldrake, an accountant and amateur historian, who has had considerable experience with computers. He is currently researching the history of Great Bedwyn in north Wiltshire and hopes to publish a book in the near future. "Keying Into History" was the title of his talk, which explained how computers can speed the collation of local history research. During questions and answers afterwards, some of the audience confessed their ignorance of computer jargon, saying terms such as "database" and "virus infection" left them baffled. Mr. Sheldrake, however, allayed many fears and misconceptions, and all agreed that first hand experience of computing, and not reading manuals, was the only way to learn.
.
The lunchbreak, which arrived all too early, also doubled as a chance for Forum members to experiment with three different computers. Brian Sheldrake and Douglas Jackson were on hand to demonstrate the capabilities of these, and the opportunity proved worthwhile for all who were anxious to "have a go".
.
The commencement of the afternoon session was graced by the presence of Susan and Robert Howard, who had travelled down specially from Nottingham, where they publish a national magazine called Local History. They gave an informative account of how their magazine serves to help local historians in many ways. Their considerable experience, using computers to produce the magazine, was shared with the attentive audience. The Howards also publish local history books and offer computer services to historians. Similar to the first speaker, "sharing the experience and the knowledge gained" was part of the Howards' philosophy.
.
The final part of the afternoon was a much-enjoyed talk by Roger Jones, the bookseller and publisher (Ex-Libris Press). A Londoner by birth, he was for several years the librarian at Newton Abbot, Devon. His first venture into writing and publishing was a long awaited history of the Devon town, and this was followed by a book of rambles. In 1980 he resigned from his job and bought a bookshop at Bradford On Avon. He devotes half his time to bookselling and the other half to publishing, concentrating on local history, countryside topics and walking guides. Last April saw the publication of the 23rd book from Ex-Libris Press. Mr. Jones concluded his talk to the Forum with the bookseller's attitude to small publishers.
.
The Day School concluded with tea, which was followed by the Wiltshire Local History Forum's AGM, attended by 16 members. Chairman Michael Sheppard reported on the Forum's activities during the past year; Treasurer Douglas Jackson presented the accounts, which gave a healthy bank balance of £1,141.68; and Newsletter Editor John Chandler explained the three newsletters produced in the year. Michael Sheppard (Chairman) and Cynthia Newton (Newsletter Assistant Editor) had both expressed their wish not to stand for re-election. They were thanked for their hard work on behalf of the Forum since its inception. Brian Sheldrake was elected Chairman for the coming year; and Margaret Fay, Felicity Gilmour and Lorna Haycock were elected to the Committee.
