Heritage Open Days - Letters to Elsie

Letters to Elsie is a talk at The Greenhouse in Victoria Park on Wednesday 16 September, starting at 16:30 and running for about an hour. It's part of Heritage Open Days in Portsmouth, which this year is running under the theme 'Everyday Histories'.

The talk centres on a rare Portsmouth family archive, and the stories it holds are exactly what the theme is about: the small, personal records that end up telling a much bigger story. It draws on that archive to bring out intimate accounts of war, sea life and family loss, and it doesn't stop there. The session also looks at how personal records like these are preserved for future generations, explaining why this particular archive matters and sharing some of the highlights from the collection.

It's delivered by representatives of the Victoria Park Revitalisation Project, so it's a local project sharing a local history. The Greenhouse is in Victoria Park, on Anglesea Road (PO1 3HJ), and the venue is fully wheelchair accessible, with assistance dogs welcome and accessible toilets on-site. It's an in-person session with a maximum capacity of 30, and you'll need to pre-book via Eventbrite to get a spot. If you're interested, it's worth sorting that early, as the room is small.