Dear JGSGB members,

A note >from Hester Abrams, Project Development Manager, Willesden
Cemetery, and Tricolor Ltd, conducting audience research for the
United Synagogue.

A few weeks ago a link was circulated in this group to a survey from
the United Synagogue about the future of Willesden Cemetery. Some
JGSGB members made interesting suggestions and as a result the project
team for the Heritage Lottery Fund-supported Willesden Cemetery
Heritage Project =E2=80=9CHouse of Life=E2=80=9D has come back to us with f=
urther
information.

The US has been awarded a Round 1 Heritage Grant by the Heritage
Lottery Fund (HLF) to develop plans to create a heritage attraction at
Willesden Jewish Cemetery.

The US is developing proposals to connect more people and a wider
range of communities locally, nationally and internationally with the
heritage of the Victorian site and is currently running a general
survey to canvass opinion about some early-stage ideas.

If you haven=E2=80=99t yet filled in the survey it only takes a few minutes
and you should do so here: http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/JGSGBforum/

The US is interested to hear >from genealogists what resources and
activities they might like to see offered through this project. For
instance, what could the heritage attraction offer that might
encourage learning and widen access to the histories of the British
Jewish community? Although they do not yet have any concrete proposals
for genealogy as a future activity, they want to understand >from us
how a physical or virtual visit to a cemetery might help the kinds of
research we do and whether there is value in having a place to focus
on genealogy and share our discoveries with others.

These specific questions are not included in the survey but you are
invited to ad lib in the free space provided, and of course discuss
them on this forum and at www.facebook.com/HouseofLifeLDN/. All views
will be taken into account as part of the ongoing public consultation
and will contribute directly to the future of Willesden Jewish
Cemetery. The project team can be contacted directly at
heritageadmin@...

Finally, if you are in or able to travel to London, please do consider
joining a focus group. The US will be hosting meetings at and around
Willesden Cemetery starting very soon and running until March 2017.
To register your interest in taking part, please follow the link on
this page to a contact form https://www.theus.org.uk/willesdensurvey

N.B. There are two Jewish cemeteries in Willesden. The project and
this survey relate to the Orthodox Jewish burial ground at
Beaconsfield Road, Willesden, NW10 2JE

Saul Issroff
posted on behalf of the Willesden survey team