Group formed to document Grecians’ history
There was unanimous support for setting up an Exeter City History Group from those attending an Open Forum on Wednesday 29th April.Six volunteers agreed to form an initial committee: Will Barrett, Brian Carpenter, Paul Farley, Lewis Jones, David Mitchell and Martin Weiler.
The committee will meet in the near future and this will report to the Exeter City Supporters’ Trust Community Group (chaired by Paul Farley).
A lot of good suggestions were made at the Open Forum and these will all be considered by the Committee. These included:
• Setting up a Former Players’ Association (including their families and former staff)
• Establishing and maintaining an A-Z of players
• Depositing archives with the SW Heritage Centre
• Creating a museum at the ground
• Having a strong history website to ensure open access to our records and other materials
• Importance of good listing and indexing of information we hold
• Learn from exemplar clubs such as Everton and Aston Villa
• Encourage people to donate or loan their archives, memorabilia etc
• Explore how to build good links with local schools (eg stadium tours)
• Importance of strong visual presentation of our history (photographs and film) and collecting a team photo for every season
• Collecting oral history from supporters, players, staff, reserves and apprentices
• The importance of ‘quick wins’
Paul Farley, left, discusses the Arnold Mitchell Collection with Arnold's son David and widow Julie
Paul Farley, Club and Trust Board member, said: “The Trust is delighted that there is so much interest in the club’s history and such enthusiasm for helping with the work the History Group intends to do.”