Reliving Campaigns from Two Decades Ago
Collections / New Accessions - Posted 05-07-2021
The period before an election is always a buy one for the Welsh Political Archive, we’re working to collect material from the campaign and members who are standing down, or wo lose their seats often get in touch to offer their papers.
A fascinating addition to the Ann Jones AM (Women’s Archive of Wales) papers. arrived at the Library during this busy period. Ann Jones presented her papers via the Women’s Archive of Wales as part of the Setting the Record Straight project. Which works with women who are or have been members of the Senedd to record their oral histories and arrange for their papers to go to an appropriate archive.
The first group of Ann Jones’ papers told the story of the Domestic Fire Safety (Wales) Measure 2011 and her background as a fire officer is clear in the recent addition. In 2000 a plan was published which would have resulted in merging all the fire control rooms in Wales including the north Wales control centre in Rhyl. Three files in the papers detail Ann Jones’ cmapaign to retain the control room in Rhys through letters, press releases and other documents.
The majority of the group records Ann Jones’ role in the campaign to ensure projects to support children in Wales following teh annoucement by the Children’s Society that they would withdraw from all their operations in Wales. The correspondence with the Chief Executive and trustees of the Children’s Society, bishops, staff and partners convey they shock and anger at the annoucement. The papers related to the UK Parliament Welsh Affairs Committee investigation pose some interesting questions and the hard work done in a working group established by Wales’ new Assembly to ensure that the projects continued is clear in the working papers, annoucments and correspondence. As a result, Tros Gynnal (https://www.tgpcymru.org.uk/) was established to continue the work.
This was a big story at the time but the real story is what went on behind the scenes. Thanks to Ann Jones, the whole story can now be told.
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