WW2 Spirit & "The Hope of Cheadle": A New Inspired Project by Cheadle Discovery Group
- Nov 8
- 2 min read
Cheadle Discovery Group has launched their exciting new project entitled WW2 Spirit and the “Hope of Cheadle.”
Ivan Wozniak, trustee of Cheadle Discovery Group, said, "It has taken over a year to develop our project and includes many distinct elements and several community partners, including Cheadle Historical Society and the Cheadle Methodist Church."
"The project focuses on researching and presenting life in Cheadle during WW2 as related by the Cheadle and Tean Times and other local newspapers. Over a year ago now, Cheadle Discovery Group acquired the unique archive of the Cheadle and Tean Times. The collection dates back to the 1920s and includes most of the war years. Because of the poor condition of many of the newspapers, we have partnered with FindmyPast, and they have agreed to digitize them and make them available for research as part of the British Newspaper Archive."
"While research of the newspapers is core to the project, we also want information from local people. We want you to share your wartime memories or passed-on memories of your families with us. Indeed, we plan to record some as oral histories as part of the project as well as recognize and record those who served in WW2 from Cheadle."
Two events which will be highlights of the project are:
"The Longest Yarn 2, happening in December 2025 at Great Wood Hall, Tean, and is being organized by our partner, Outside Arts. It is an exhibition made up of 80 1m panels of "wool-based miniature figures and art" depicting what it was like in Britain between the declaration of war on the 3rd of September 1939 to VE Day on 8 May 1945."
"This includes significant events such as the King’s Speech, D-Day, The Blitz, the bombing of major cities, Britain coping with the war, the Home Guard, the Women’s Land Army, rationing, and much more.
This event will have thousands of visitors, so do book your ticket now. Tickets are free and available at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/supportstaffordshire/"
"The second event is planned for June 2026. We are organizing with partner Team Cheadle a WW2 celebration one-day event on the High St. The event includes a whole range of family activities and entertainment. However, the highlight of that event will be a full-size Spitfire aircraft in Cheadle. The reason we have made the Spitfire a focus of our project is because it has great relevance to Cheadle. During WW2, Cheadle people paid for a Spitfire via donations. The aircraft was named “The Hope of
Cheadle,” and we plan to tell its story as part of our project."
"Our project has been funded mainly by the National Lottery Heritage Fund with some match funding from Outside Arts and Cheadle Town Council, and we thank them sincerely for their support."
WW2 Spirit & "The Hope of Cheadle": A New Inspired Project by Cheadle Discovery Group
