Nunney Church hosts ‘Nunney during World War II’ exhibition

Story posted on October 22, 2013

The Nunney Home Guard.

THE exhibition ‘Keep Calm And Nunney On’ about Nunney during World War II is back on display by public demand for six weeks until 30th November in Nunney Church.

The exhibition was designed and produced by Visit Nunney for the Nunney Community Association’s 2012 Nunney Street Market and Fayre, with sponsorship from The Selwood Foundation, Roland John Hair Studio and Visit Nunney. It was printed by Corsham Print.

The display materials for this exhibition were kindly donated by Andy Whiting of Rage Displays in Bristol. Nunney during the wartime years was also the theme of last year’s fayre.

Many said they either did not have a chance to see the exhibition during last year’s Nunney Fayre or wanted to have more time to study it. The Friends of Nunney Church and Visit Nunney therefore decided to put the exhibition back on display, in the South aisle of the church between Monday 14th October and Saturday 30th November.

The exhibition tells the fascinating highs and lows of life in Nunney between 1939 and 1946. Drawing on the personal accounts and archives of local residents past and present, as well as Somerset County Archives and other collections, the exhibition recounts the stories of the local Home Guard, Air Raid Patrols and Invasion Committee.

It shows how a community responded to the pressures of war and rose magnificently to the challenge of raising funds for the war effort.

The exhibition is illustrated with many photos and documents that have hardly ever been seen in public, such as photos of the 1943 Wings for Victory Week – a fundraising carnival parade and other activities in the middle of the war.

Well-known local residents such as Owen Hillier, Fred Lestrange, Dorothy Wilcox and the late Phyllis Smith gave their personal accounts, making the exhibition a valuable piece of living history.

The exhibition will be on display on Remembrance Sunday. Admission is free; the exhibition is open during normal opening hours of the church, except during services.

After the exhibition ends, the Christmas Tree Festival will take place in the church.

Above: Nunney Home Guard. Below: Nunney Wings for Victory parade 1943