Derry City & Strabane District Council – Museum & Visitor Service

Report on the U-boat Anniversary EventGuildhall, Tower Museum & Harbour House

BackgroundDerry City and Strabane District Council’s Museum & Visitor Services organized and delivered a programme of activities to mark the 70th anniversary of the surrender of the German U-boats in the city using the Guildhall, Tower Museum and Harbour House on Saturday 16th May 2015. The overall aim of the event was to create a varied programme of activity to mark this historic anniversary, engage a wide range of audiences and raise awareness of how strategically important the city and region had been during the Second World War.

OutputsThe key programme outputs were:

1. New short drama about the North West during the War produced by the Playhouse which was delivered 7 times over the day

2. History Ireland Hedge School – War and Peace: the North West during the Second World War - a panel discussion with four speakers, facilitated by Tommy Graham, editor of History Ireland - 40 attendees

3. Displays from Museum collections, family activities, jigsaws, comics etc.4. Display of Second World War inspired vintage clothes/accessories and

militaria from Bedlam5. 1940s style photo booth6. Exhibits from Base One Europe, Royal British Legion and Donegal Spitfire 7. War time style refreshments in Guildhall and war time music in the Guildhall

main hall and outside to Guildhall Square8. Screening of short film on the Battle of the Atlantic produced by the Museum

Service and slide show of the digitized images from the U-boat albums9. Guided tours of Harbour House10. Museum & Visitor Service staff in 1940s costume

Derry City & Strabane District Council – Museum & Visitor Service

Marketing and promotionWe put together a very robust marketing and promotion programme by working closely with DCSDC colleagues and other agencies. This included print and digital marketing as well as some banner advertising on the DCSDC and History Ireland websites. We also managed to obtain a great deal of media interest from local press and television which certainly helped to raise awareness of the event locally and regionally. Please see attached press media book. Below is a list of marketing and promotional outputs:

New Commemorative Booklet Outrunning the Wolf Pack produced Promotional leaflet and posters - distributed across the region History Ireland Hedge School podcast complete Banner advert on the History Ireland web site for the Hedge School Event press release issued by DCSDC Press Office DCSDC ezine sent out 13/5/15 Details of the event posted on NIMC and Tourism NI websites Ezine sent out by Visit Derry Details posted on social media (Face book) via Visit Derry, CCI, What’s on,

Tower Museum and Guildhall pages Collection of images taken with staff and visitors in the 1940s photo booth

Derry City & Strabane District Council – Museum & Visitor Service

PartnersBelow is the list of partners who were involved in the event and who we aim to continue to engage with when planning next year’s programme:

History Ireland Royal Navy (initial meetings to look at how to develop this event in coming

years) Base One Europe Museum @ Beech Hill Hotel Royal British Legion Donegal Spitfire (Jonny Mc Nee) Royal Naval Association and Royal Canadian Navy veterans group Londonderry Port & Harbour City Centre Initiative Bedlam Visit Derry Tourism NI DCSDC Press office Local media partners and newspapers Council Marketing and Events section

Derry City & Strabane District Council – Museum & Visitor Service

BudgetThe cost for the event was £9,297.00 and covered by the Museum & Visitor Service and Good Relations programme budgets for 2014/15 and 2015/16.

2014/15£3,972.00 (£2,302 from the Good Relations budget)

2015/16£5,325.00

FeedbackOverall the event was seen as a great success and visitors were very impressed with the range of activities on offer across all three buildings. The tours of Harbour House were very popular and worked well in conjunction with the drama being performed in the Guildhall. The film and slide show in the Tower Museum also attracted visitors of all ages. There would certainly be enough interest to extend the event over a weekend as many people called in the next day asking about it. There would also be the opportunity to extend the range of exhibits in the Guildhall and Tower Museum.

Lots of visitors were from outside the city and many were keen to share their memories of the War and in particular the surrender of the U-boats. The range of audience reflected a great interest in this part of our history and the music and use of costume helped to create a war time atmosphere. The photo booth was also a success and something that we could look at developing further for next year.

Visitor numbers:Guildhall 1845Harbour House 230Tower Museum 786 (166 paid visitors)Total 2961

We received lots of great feedback on the day of the event and afterwards. Here is a sample of what people had to say:

‘Fantastic display and my kids loved it!’ ‘Excellent job, well done on all the displays, including the drama, loved it. We

need more of this please.’ ‘I loved wearing the helmet,’ - Daniel ‘Great event, loved the staff getting dressed for the occasion. Well done.’ ‘Excellent event. We live in the city and really enjoy supporting local events and

great to see so many tourists. Well done – a mine of meaningful information for all.’

Derry City & Strabane District Council – Museum & Visitor Service

‘A very informative and interesting display and performance, thank you.’ Joe and Judy Western Australia

RecommendationsDue to the success of the event and also the level of public enthusiasm for this particular part of the city’s heritage we should look at continuing this as an annual event. This has the potential to be a great opportunity to attract visitors to the city, regional, national and international. We should look at developing this in greater partnership with local agencies such as Visit Derry and City Centre Initiative as well as Tourism NI and Tourism Ireland.Objectives:

Look at extending the programme to be delivered over whole weekend Potential dates for next year Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th May 2016 Build on DCSDC and Museum & Visitor Service staff involvement and

participation Build on the partnerships created this year and source new partners Develop partnership with local and national agencies to promote this event Strengthen the partnership with the Royal Navy and Royal Naval Association

(RNA)

Derry City & Strabane District Council – Museum & Visitor Service

Link with Royal Canadian Navy veterans group who will be visiting the city 6-9 May 2016 and scope out opportunities for their support

Prepare draft programme for 2016 Develop the photo booth Discuss ways of building in a wartime themed tea dance in the Guildhall Build on the pre event schools engagement programme Investigate using outside space at Guildhall Square – large displays of military

or civilian vehicles with potential partners such as the Ulster Aviation Society and private collectors

Plan ahead with partners to work on the programme to mark 75th anniversary in 2020

Identify potential funding streams to enhance programme content and delivery

Link to further development work on the new maritime museum and archive

Derry City & Strabane District CouncilMuseum & Visitor Service16 June 2015