‘Lidos Alive’ memories project awarded National Lottery grant

The Richmond Environmental Information Centre (REIC) is pleased to announce that the charity has been awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant to carry out a Memories project about the lidos of the boroughs of Twickenham and Richmond (which became the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in 1965).

There is a lot of interest in maintaining existing lidos and reviving lidos throughout the country and our borough is no exception. The lidos in the borough – past and present - include Twickenham, Mereway, Teddington, Bushy and Richmond.

Thanks to support from National Lottery players, Lidos Alive will explore the history of our local lidos through archival research and recorded memories. We will aim to engage a number of local residents in the collection of their memories and will disseminate this information to a wide audience.

The project team will compile a history of the local lidos using the local studies library, newspaper archives and the National Archives.  We will also collect photographs and other memorabilia such as programmes. There will be public access to all this information through a dedicated website and publications as well as exhibitions and public talks. Selected memories and photographs will be recorded in a booklet about the project.

REIC Vice Chairman Berkley Driscoll said “We are thrilled to have received support thanks to National Lottery players and are confident the project will engage with many people of all ages”.