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A notebook from prisoners of the second world war, full of poems, songs and thoughts.

Why this is important?

Men and women from all over Britain and the world served during the Second World War. Some became prisoners of war and were held in camps, often in extremely harsh, overcrowded conditions. Food was sparse and life could be hard and very boring.

This notebook gives evidence of one way that the prisoners found to keep themselves busy. The notebook is full of poems and words from songs. There is no space wasted, as paper would have been hard to find.

How it connects to Rossendale.

The notebook belonged to a Rossendale man called Fred Heys. The front of the book tells us that he was in the RAVC – the Royal Army Veterinary Corps. This Corps would be responsible for the welfare of horses, mules, camels and dogs that were being used in the war. We don’t know what Fred Heys’ rank or role was.

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