'Purpose' CD

The journal of the Stevenage Development Corporation is released on CD

By Jill Campbell

AN archive of fascinating material charting the birth of Stevenage New Town has been released in a new digital format.

The CD contains an indexed collection of the Stevenage Development Corporation’s quarterly journal ‘Purpose’ from 1955 to 1966 as well as its predecessor, the SDC quarterly bulletin.

The name Purpose came from the Development Corporation’s motto “Consider Thy Purpose” and over ten years the magazines told the story of the New Town as it happened. They reported on the growth of the town in words and pictures as well as introducing some of the personalities who helped to turn the plans into reality.

The CD will work on any PC and is a great way to bring back memories for older residents who lived through those early years and a valuable resource for students of the town’s history.

The project was put together entirely by volunteers at Stevenage Museum. Museum manager Jo Ward said: “This is a great example of people giving their time for free to help make a fascinating part of the town’s story more widely available. Volunteers have scanned all the pages as well as typing up the index and now we are using their work to help raise money for the museum, so we’d like to say a very big thank you to everyone involved.”

The CD costs £9.99 and is available from Stevenage Museum in St George’s Way.

This page was added on 26/05/2011.

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