Street Life 1939-1945, generously supported and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, was a two-year community heritage project in 2015 to 2017 that involved many local people in many different ways. Volunteers carried out research, oral history interviews, photography, fieldwork and were involved in tour participation to record and present the history of selected towns in Fenland and East Cambridgeshire. The project focused on the towns of Chatteris, Ely, Littleport and Soham during the Second World War to encourage people to look more closely at their built environment, to discover great stories and to connect with people from the past. We discovered how daily and family life continued as the community coped with rationing and the impact of the war aswell as how local buildings have changed use over time or disappeared entirely. The project captured memories, stories and information that otherwise might have been lost as well as giving local people an understanding of their local heritage and what the community used to be like over 70 years ago. ​

Download our full Street Life information booklet here!