Students in Estaires in WW1 Armistice commemorations

Students at the College du Sacre Coeur, Estaires, presenting an exhibition of correspondence between Cornish miner Leslie Pentecost and the Smagghue family who billeted him in the town during World War One. Leslie was one of a group of miners from Dolcoath who joined the 25th Field Ambulance when war broke out in 1914. They […]

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WHATEVER IT TAKES – web gallery

Our Whatever It Takes skateboards were created in 2012 as part of a competition for a Cornish skateboard design. The competition was driven and inspired by professional skateboarder Nick Jensen and his belief that art and skating are closely linked. He painted a board for the exhibition himself and invited fellow professionals, illustrators and artists […]

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A snapshot of ‘dancercise’

‘Dancercise’ is hard to say…. but the name says it all. Here are photos of a recent session at the Masbro Centre, Hammersmith, London. Dancer Simone Sistarelli is working with the Elders’ group. The idea was to teach people a few simple movements that they could practice at home daily. They could practice the movements […]

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Playing For Camborne: top Youth Band visits the Western Front

A highlight of 2018 was Camborne Youth Band’s trip to France and Belgium. The young musicians took a 100-year-old bugle back to the Western Front belonging to Fred Negus, a Cornishman who signed up in 1914.  His great great grandson is in the Band. This was part of our Heritage Lottery funded project, Heart of […]

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French school helps rekindle a 100-year-old friendship

It was a real privilege to be in Estaires, northern France, to mark the centenary of World War One. Students at the College du Sacre-Coeur helped us to bring together the French descendants of the family that billeted a young Cornish soldier in 1914-15 with his granddaughters Alison Pooley and Carmen Saunders.  Leslie was one of […]

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BBC interview on Cornish WW1 love story

Sunday 4 November 2018 – Cornishwoman Alison Pooley​ talks on BBC Radio Cornwall​ about her grandfather Leslie Pentecost in World War One, his long distance love affair with his sweetheart Lillie Uren back in Cagmborne, Cornwall, and his friendship with the Smagghue family in Estaires, northern France, during the war years. Alison is travelling out […]

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