HISTORY is coming alive at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds as visitors experience the “make do and mend” skills practised on the Home Front during the two World Wars.
Visitors can join dressmaker and costume historian Meredith Towne this Saturday and Sunday as she illustrates how ordinary people boosted the war effort.
People on the Home Front recycled civilian clothes during supply shortages, as the nation focused its efforts on manufacturing uniforms.
Meredith’s presentations, which run at 12 noon and 3pm each day, demonstrate how governments of the day issued practical advice to help ordinary people to do their bit.
Tips varied from advice on how to save various household resources, such as wool and electricity, to encouraging people to make new clothes from old, as well as darning and repairing items.
Meredith will also be available between 11am and 4pm to answer questions about a variety of authentic and replica items that form part of her demonstrations.
Royal Armouries’ events manager Rachael Bevan said: “The enthusiasm and resourcefulness displayed by Britons, especially after 1916 when hopes for a short war faded, provided a template for the famous ‘make do and mend’ ethos of the 1940s.”
The Royal Armouries is also running make-and-take craft sessions every weekend before Christmas, offering fun, hands-on activities for children.
Admission to the Royal Armouries Museum is free. Visit royalarmouries.org for more details.
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