Remembering Valerie Grigg, local historian

We were sad to hear of the death of Valerie Grigg, a keen local historian based in Camborne and Redruth, west Cornwall, who helped us build up Heart of Conflict, our project commemorating the centenary of World War One.

Valerie was a tireless researcher and never gave up on a lead. She used old-fashioned methods, letters and telephone calls. Sparked by an interest in her grandfather who fought in World War One, she chipped away at his history until she built a picture. “He was too old and too short to fight,” she told me at one of our first meetings. To find out his story, she spent years ploughing through research papers.

Valerie helped Bridging Arts with our exhibitions in Redruth, Camborne and at the Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, where she also helped present a talk on nursing during World War One. She had spent many years working as a nurse and remained even late in life sprightly and able to care for her elderly husband, Clive, who sadly predeceased her.  She was always ready to pitch in and help, offering her extensive collection of memorabilia for people to view and handle – here with Redruth Boys Brigade.