All of our articles are contributed by members and others who have a story to tell. We do not pay for material to be written, and we do not normally commission people to write for the magazine.
Members and readers will know that we changed printer a couple of years ago, and we will have another new printer in place for the forthcoming issue. This change has been brought about because of the financial downturn, and hopefully will be the last one for many years. The process of change does bring an opportunity to look at the magazine format and how this might benefit from something of a makeover. We will always retain the size of the magazine; because there are many who have complete collections, I am sure they would not want to see the size change. What may be possible is to vary the number of pages in each issue to avoid me having to hold over articles from one issue to the next. It may also be a good time to move to full colour. All I will say is “watch this space” for the first issue in 2010.
Anyone who does want to submit anything to the magazine should get in touch with Mick on editor[at]blackcountrysociety.co.uk, or visit our web page at www.blackcountrysociety.co.uk.
The Black Country Society website
This has been up and running for a number of years now, and is linked to the magazine in that there are articles from some of the earlier issues. There is also material that is on the web that we would not feature in the magazine. It is a good place to visit if you have been reading an article that spans a number of issues; you will find some of those articles reproduced on one page, sometimes with additional illustrations.
You will also find an index to the magazine, including many of the names of people found inside articles, invaluable if you are researching your ancestors. This is a little out of date at the moment, one of my tasks is to bring the index up to date and maybe refine the search process somewhat. If only each day consisted of 48 hours!
Other areas of the site that we cannot feature in the magazine are a small soundbank – this will develop and grow with sound clips and maybe interviews with Black Country people. It will also become a good place to explore the Black Country dialect, something that is easier to do with sound as opposed to the written dialect. I am also looking into a photographic archive, again something that will take time to set up and will be an ongoing project, reliant on submissions to the Society with permission to publish.
The Society
The Black Country Society was founded in 1967 by enthusiasts led by the late Dr. John Fletcher, who felt that the Black Country did not receive its fair share of recognition for its great contribution to the industrial development of Britain and the world. The Society grew out of the Dudley Canal Tunnel Preservation Society which successfully campaigned to save Dudley Canal Tunnel, which had been threatened with closure by British Waterways and British Rail. The Tunnel is now a major attraction at the Black Country Living Museum. The Society’s stated aim was “to foster interest in the past, present and future of the Black Country”, and its voice, at a specially called meeting on 6th October 1968, was one of the earliest calling for the establishment of a local industrial museum. Since the establishment of the Black Country Living Museum, the Society and individual members have continually supported it. The Society has gone from strength to strength, establishing an enviable reputation in publishing books and magazines concerned with the Black Country, together with an active and varied programme of events throughout the year.
We currently have around 2000 members, all of whom receive four copies of the magazine a year and they are also entitled to attend any of our events, which take place throughout the year (see below). Decisions made about how the Society runs are the responsibility of a committee of volunteers. From that committee a Chair is elected, as well as the other usual office holders – a treasurer and secretary, as well as some specific posts such as my own as Editor, a membership secretary, an events coordinator and so on.
Activities organised by the Society
These range from talks and presentations, through walks and coach tours. There are a couple of regional history groups – one covers Kingswinford and the other is the Industrial Archaeology group. There is an Annual General Meeting, held in April of each year, and the Society get involved in an annual Black Country History Day, run at Birmingham University and now in its fourth year.”
