A GROUP are gathering support to help save what is possibly the largest studies of Barrow and the surrounding areas.

Barrow-based charity Signal Film and Media, alongside Cumbria Archives and the Sankey family are seeking the support of the community to help save the many photographs taken by Edward and Raymond Sankey of Barrow from the 1890's to the 1970's.

The duo documented everything from ship launches, parades and royal visits to views of factories, theatres, streets, or tourist destinations.

Project Manager Julia Parks says: “We have a collection of 100 postcards with messages on the back, some were posted over a hundred years ago and to places as far as Latvia, Sweden and Paris.

"We hope to find out what the messages say, where they were posted from and where they went too. It will give us a glimpse into the lives of people who were living, working or visiting Barrow and places around Cumbria. It is also wonderful to see all the photographs the Sankey’s took."

In 2017, Signal Film and Media applied for the first of a two-stage Heritage Lottery Fund bid. They are currently developing a plan of activity for the larger Sankey project which will begin in mid-2019.

The wider project will see the collection re-homed and digitised with Cumbria Archives, as well as a whole host of creative and heritage activities to celebrate the photographs and share them with the communities they were originally taken at.

They are gathering information and interest for the project as part of the development phase and encourage anyone interested to please fill in their quick survey on their website at: www.signalfilmandmedia.co.uk or to contact Julia Parks at: julia@signalfilmandmedia.co.uk or by telephone on: 01229 838592.