Press Release

World War II Our Lives book launched

4th December 2006

The Mayor, Councillor Helen Quigley will formally launch a book recollection of memories of World War II entitled “Our Lives” tomorrow, Tuesday 5th December 2006 at 2.30pm at the Harbour Museum.

The book is a partnership project between Derry City Council Heritage & Museum Service and Causeway Museum Service. It is a collection of people’s memories from this area, of World War II and the decade after the war in the North West and Causeway Regions.

Margaret Edwards, Education Officer for the Heritage and Museum Service explained that the book is a part of a partnership programme the Museum Service was involved with the Causeway on the legacy of World War II in a project called Their Past Your Future.

She said the book examines how Derry was a key naval base and during the Second World War, its Port played a vital role for the Allied convoys. The book recalls the Battle of the Atlantic when a North Atlantic fleet of German submarines surrendered in the city. In one of the final acts of the Second World War, the German U-boats were taken back out to sea and sunk off the coast of Derry, where they still lay. The book also looks at the impact the war had on the people of the city and North West region.

“This book provides an interesting and unique insight into this important chapter of our history and gives eyewitness accounts of what happened to people living and working in the city at that time,” she commented.

The book is part of a programme funded by the Big Lottery and administered by the Northern Ireland Museums Council.

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