In addition to this page there is now also a new website www.thomasclarkson.org
Maureen will the explore how Thomas and John Clarkson from Wisbech became players in world history through their involvement in exposing the horrors of the slave trade and acknowledging the potential of Africans to live a harmonious and productive life in their own country. She will take her audience on a moving trip through the lives of the two brothers telling the stories that shaped and changed their lives and had a profound effect on the lives of so many others.
“It is difficult to study history through the ears, eyes and understanding of those that lived in the past. Maureen was able to describe events of the past though the lives and feelings of the Clarksons and their contemporaries with great success. She spoke with emotion and feeling about the work of real people”.
If you are interested in booking Maureen for the talk please phone her on 01354 650586
2007 Bookings for the talk:
28th February - Wisbech Town Armchair Walks
7th March - Buckden Local History Societ
20th March - Peterborough Central Library
25th April - Lincolnshire Historical Society
6th October - Bury St Edmunds
Strictures on the Life of William Wilberforce
2007 Bookings for the talk:
31 March - Society for Storytelling Annual Gathering at Pocklington School, Yorks
Thomas & John Clarkson –
22nd May - Bury St Edmunds
As an aid to students of the Abolition of Slavery and because it will be 200 years since Britain abolished the Transatlantic Slave Trade in 2007, it has been decided to make the first section of the Thomas Clarkson & The Abolition of Slavery Teachers Pack (the background information) by Maureen James B.Ed MA, freely available as a PDF on this website (download it here)
In 1997 I was asked to write a teachers pack for the Wisbech & Fenland Museum, Wisbech, Cambs on the subject of Thomas Clarkson and the Abolition of Slavery. The reasons for producing the pack included:
To celebrate the life and work of Thomas Clarkson, one of the founding fathers of the Anti-slavery movement and one of Wisbech's most important historical characters.
To promote awareness of, and access to, Wisbech & Fenland Museum and its collection of original Clarkson material.
To compliment the recent educational video and pack by Anti-slavery International which will raise awareness of the history of slavery and Thomas Clarkson at a national level.
To meet the increased demand for information on Thomas Clarkson due to the general historical re-assessment of his importance and the work of Anti-Slavery International.
My task was to build the pack around a selection of objects and documents in
the Clarkson collection at Wisbech & Fenland Museum and enhance knowledge
and understanding of these resources through the provision of background information
and ideas for teaching.
The task was completed in 1999/2000 and the finished pack comprised 3 sections
Section 1 is addressed to all teachers giving background information with references to the relevant reproductions. It is organised under Key Questions, which are also referred to in the KS3 part of Section 2 (see below)
Section 2 contains teaching ideas for use at Key Stage 1-3, specific inform-action on some of the reproductions, transcripts of letters, timelines, bibliography etc.
Section 3 contains the primary source material - photographs and facsimile documents for use with pupils.
For more details on the contents of the pack and their use download the FREE teachers notes document here:
Thomas Clarkson Introduction (clarksonintro.pdf )112KB
Thomas Clarkson Section 1 (clarkson1.pdf) 712KB
'I found it to be comprehensive, informative, and extremely detailed and I am sure it will be a welcome resource for Primary and Secondary Schools as well as the LEA Services such as ourselves, the Schools Library Service and other outside agencies' Bethan Rees, Primary Support Service Cambridgeshire County Council
'(You) have produced a very good product which I hope will sell well'
Paul Goalen, Homerton College Cambridge'a wealth of useful information, which is also accessible through being well laid out…I look forward to seeing it in print and will certainly buy one for the library and one for the department. Perhaps you'd like to come along sometime and talk to some students about it?'
Peter Cunningham, Cambridge University Primary History Specialist'Julia Lumley has asked me to write on behalf of the (Harambee)Centre to congratulate you on the Clarkson Pack. She has shown the pack to teachers and student teachers and they have expressed an interest in purchasing the pack in the future. The ..Centre would also be happy to sell copies.
Harambee Development Education Centre, CambridgeMay I congratulate you on your extensive research. I found the whole pack fascinating and stimulating as I am sure the children will. It is an area that needs to be covered in all schools and your pack addresses all the issues…with clarity and excellent evidence.
Rachel Williams St Luke's School Cambridge'I enjoyed reading it. I'm very impressed by the scope and quality of the information in Section One, as well as the resources. I'm sure teachers will make good use of the pack.. I certainly think it's an excelllent resource and deserves to do well.
Rose McCausland Anti-Slavery International'absolutely fascinating to read'
Vicki Connolly, The Clarkson Infants' School, Wisbech
Section 1 of
the pack is available to download free as a PDF
on this site. For the complete pack in printed form, contact
Wisbech & Fenland Museum, Museum Square, Wisbech, Cambs PE13 1ES
Telephone: 01945 583817 Fax: 01945 589050 or email
wisbechmuseum@beeb.net
The pack includes:-
46 page booklet of indexed background information
47 page booklet of teaching ideas and resources