Friends of the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland

The Friends of the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland (ROLLR) is a charity formed in 1984 to promote and support the work of the county record office.  Membership is open to all and includes people of all ages and interests.  Most are local but others come from Norfolk, Worcestershire and Wales.  We have even had members in Australia and Canada. The Friends is a registered charity: number 515512.

In many ways.  Often the Friends help simply by putting up money for documents or equipment the Record Office wishes to buy.  Other Friends prefer to help with archive work by joining project groups set up to tackle jobs that otherwise would not be done by Record Office staff.  In the past the Friends have even campaigned in support of archive services.

Yes.  Many Friends want only the satisfaction that comes from helping.  There is also a programme of talks and outings arranged for the Friends.  In addition the Friends receive quarterly mailings of the Record Office newsletter, "The Dustsheet", as well as regular issues of the Friends' "Occasional Papers" series.  These have included a review of framework-knitting in Leicestershire and the definitive study of the Leicester Unemployed March of 1905.  The Friends also receive a discount at the Record Office shop.

Simply complete the form below and return it to the Hon Membership Secretary at the address shown or post it to The Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland, Long Street, Wigston Magna, Leicester LE18 2AH.

For details of a website set-up by Friends and supporters of the Record Office, please go to :
http://www.friendsofrollr.org.uk/

Have you ever wondered whether your family has any hidden war stories? If your predecessors fought for their country, were taken prisoner, or even won medals?

Thanks to an easy-to-use guide from Wigston Record Office for anyone who wants to trace their family’s war history, finding out about your ancestors' exploits is now easier than ever.

World War Ancestry offers an introduction to the wealth of local military information from the two World Wars available to all at the Record Office.

This includes enlistment registers for the Royal Leicestershire Regiment and the Leicestershire Yeomanry, war diaries for battalions, letters from soldiers, photographs of troops, copies of The Green Tiger (the local Regiment’s journal) and many rare specialist books on local military history.

World War Ancestry, which is the first in a series of guides to the Record Office, also contains useful contact addresses and tips on where to begin and what clues to look for, and is a vital aid for family and military historians alike.

A limited run of 500 copies of World War Ancestry is available now from Wigston Record Office priced £4.50 (which covers guide book production costs), or £5 including P&P.

For further details please contact the Record Office on (0116) 257 1080 or email : recordoffice@leics.gov.uk

Occasional Papers No 1
Honest people but Destitute - the plight of Leicestershire's Framework Knitters in the 1840's by Jess Jenkins. 2005. £4.50

Occasional Papers No 2
Leicester's Unemployed March to London 1905 by Jess Jenkins. 2005. £4.90

Occasional Papers No 3
Leicestershire & The Russian War, 1854-1856 by Robin Jenkins. 2007.£6

Occasional Papers No 4
Know Your Place (Maps at the Record Office) by Hilda Stoddart. 2010. £8