A tight timetable
The Society’s inaugural meeting for this project was in Mar 2000. This set out the topics to be covered e.g. transport; the wars, religion. Derek Pearce took on the role of project organiser. A tight timetable was set for first draft April 2002, final draft Aug 2002 for publication in spring 2003 ‘otherwise everyone would go on and on researching…’

Eight authors, five editors, hundreds of contributors
Hundreds of people contributed. They responded to advertisements, heard about the project on local radio or through the local paper, met the historians at their stall at Newent’s annual Onion Fayre. People were tracked down by letter for information, more local people were interviewed. One contributor offered a collection of pictures 1905 – 1915 on glass plates. Different chapters on different subjects were written by different authors. Some original authors gave up and one died but others stepped in so there were eight principle authors in the end. The project organiser took on the role of overall editor, ironing out repartitions.

Agreeing the facts
Five editors checked the first draft for errors. Errors or disagreements about the facts continue to provoke discussion long after publication. ‘…there was a week of celebrations for the Coronation…’ And people come forward saying ‘.but you did’ nt ask me…’ to which a reply is ‘…but you did not come forward at the time…’

Copies going fast
A thousand copies were printed, 481 have gone in the first two months. Copies are available for reference through libraries, local and national, as well as the county record office.

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