JOURNALIST and former war correspondent Kate Adie has been named as a patron of the Dorset Archives Trust.

Kate is a former BBC chief news correspondent and author of several best-selling books, including the recently published Fighting on the Home Front, the Legacy of Women in World War One, released in 2013.

She has a wide experience of the heritage sector and has also served as a trustee of the Imperial War Museum. Kate, who is also a Dorset resident, has been described as the ‘perfect ambassador with invaluable experience’ by members of the trust.

Trust chairman Carola Campbell said: “Kate is the perfect ambassador for the Dorset Archives Trust; she has a deep and insightful understanding of history and its impact on today’s world.”

The Dorset Archives Trust (DAT) is the charitable body set up to support the work of the Dorset History Centre, based in Dorchester, which holds 1000 years of the county’s written history held within thousands of varied collections.

Carola added: “As a user of the Dorset History Centre to research her writing, Kate also appreciates the wonderful services offered by the centre and its staff. “Her invaluable expertise and support will help DAT to face the many challenges of saving Dorset’s disappearing histories.

“Members of the trust look forward to working with Kate in coming years as they work to support the activities of Dorset History Centre in preserving the county’s unique written heritage.”

The trust’s aims are to fundraise, assist with the purchase of documents and for archive related projects, encourage the donation of collections and to promote archives and history centre’s work.

 

County archivist 'delighted'

Sam Johnston, county archivist at the Dorset History Centre, said: “Having shown Kate around the centre I can testify to how well she understands the nature of what we do here – both the challenges of preserving fragile physical items but also the huge range of information – stories – that archives yield.
“I am delighted that Kate has agreed to help our work through the medium of the Dorset Archives Trust.”