Recently I was able to put my research skills to use helping with a small exhibition of materials relating to the Hull University Social Services Organisation, to honour its 60th Anniversary. The organisation, founded by Derek Forster in 1961, has carried out decades worth of good work helping people in Hull, and it was a real privillege to get to read about some of this. After initially beginning to assist in March 2020, COVID-19 put paid to the project for a while. However, the team involved began work on the research in earnest in 2021 to ensure that the project still happened in some form. Some new undergraduate volunteers joined the project in late 2022, and were able to make use of the research we had already done to deliver a small exhibition in the Student Union Building in February 2022. We were delighted to be able to see this much delayed projcet to fruition. A photograph of some of the materials found is displayed below.
It was particularly interesting to do archival work on a completely different period to that which I am used to, and to help a little bit with a project to recognise the good work of HUSSO.