The exhibition is open at The Mill community centre until 3rd July
By Waltham Forest Echo

Our Voices relies on oral histories and newspaper clippings to uncover forgotten stories (credit: Share UK)

An exhibition celebrating Walthamstow’s forgotten heroes opens today.

Our Voices is the product of ten years of research to uncover stories of the area’s lesser-known trailblazers, including free school meals pioneers and lesbian suffragettes.

Since many of those featured came from East London’s working class communities, local non-profit Share UK has relied on oral histories and newspaper cuttings to piece together their stories.

Project manager Esther Freeman said: “When you say E17, many people can’t get past the 90s boy band. When you talk about East London more widely it is even worse: poverty, vice and of course the brutal Jack the Ripper murders.

“But our area has a much richer history than that. It’s full of radical thinkers, trailblazers and pioneers. This exhibition shares stories of some of them.”

(Credit: Share UK)

Using QR codes dotted around the exhibition, visitors can use their phones to hear people tell stories in their own words.

Share UK, based in Walthamstow, was founded in 2012 and has since trained nearly 100 volunteers in heritage and digital skills.

Our Voices is open at The Mill community centre in Coppermill Lane until 3rd July

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.