Wendy Walker (County Archivist, West Sussex Record Office) 

Following the Shoreham Airshow Disaster on 22 August 2015 West Sussex Record Office was asked to help with the preservation of the messages that were left on the Shoreham Tollbridge, the books of condolence and media reports. All of these records bear witness to the response of the local community and visitors in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy.

Archiving spontaneous memorials is a very new development requiring us to think about practicalities, methodology, ethical considerations and personal sensitivities. In September 2018 a Spontaneous Memorials Network was set up by practitioners from across the UK and Europe to share best practice, offer support and explore all of these issues further. More recently links have been made with the US with a planning symposium for 2021 held at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York in October 2019.

This presentation will look at the Shoreham Community Archive and explore the wider context and issues for this type of work.

http://www.spontaneousmemorials.org