Thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund, from the 1st to 28th March 2018, our exhibition about the history of Staunton Harold Hall Cheshire Home and its successor Newlands House will be at Sharpe’s Pottery Museum in Swadlincote, South Derbyshire.

This is a repeat exhibition of the one held in February 2017, and gives the opportunity to find out more about both homes and the history of our charity’s founder Group Captain Leonard Cheshire VC. Some new photographs of Group Captain Leonard Cheshire’s RAF years will also be on display.

Leonard served in the Second World War as a RAF Officer in Bomber Command, and left the service in 1944 the youngest ever Group Captain, with an unequalled record of over 100 operational missions and the most highly decorated RAF bomber pilot.

Leonard struggled with life and his health after the war, and felt a duty to ensure such a war never happened again. In remembrance of those who died as a result of war he started the work that grew into the charity that bears his name today, supporting disabled people to live the lives they choose.

Staunton Harold was the 5th Cheshire Home and the last UK home he lived in whilst it was being restored. He saved the hall from demolition in 1954 and the community spirit the project revealed convinced him to travel abroad to India and expand his work overseas.

The exhibition includes photographs from these early years and shows the hall before and after restoration, including pictures of local people who lived, volunteered and worked there.

Entry is free of charge, and the exhibition is on the Lower Gallery at Sharpe’s Pottery, West Street, Swadlincote DE11 9DG.

A poster is attached below, and can be printed to share.

Rewind Exhibition March 2018