VOLUNTEERS who created a documentary film to preserve memories of life in the Upper Esk Valley in and around the 1950s have been praised by a charity that aims to improve the lives of people in rural communities.

Living Memories was completely volunteer-driven and captures what life was like for residents in the rural region of the North Yorkshire Moors at the turn of the 20th Century and during wartime.

Volunteers running the project have been celebrated by Rural Action Yorkshire, which is showcasing projects and volunteers in the hope of inspiring more community or social action while recognising the work that goes into being a regular volunteer.

The scheme, '52 (Almost) Painless Things Your Community Can Do', draws attention to the pressures facing volunteers in times of severe public funding cuts.

As part of a project led by Debbie Swales, the group in the Esk Valley secured around £5,000 of funding from the North Yorkshire Moors National Park to create a film that would tour the local area and capture the memories of elderly residents, enabling the preservation of their local history.

Ms Swales said: “The film would preserve knowledge, information and personal stories forever, as well as be a record of people’s characters and lives.

“The idea was to make local history accessible to a wide range of people who may not otherwise have taken an interest, but to also generate funds that could be fed back into the community for new ideas to help the elderly.”

Living Memories took six months to complete and local schools were given copies of the DVD to aid in local history lessons.

Ms Swales added: “On top of this, new contacts were forged in the creation of the film, particularly between care providers and older people, so new activities and games have been set up, and there have been clear indicators of reduced loneliness and isolation as a result of making the film. “

Leah Swain, chief officer of Rural Action Yorkshire, said: “Communities face pressure year on year to do more with less, and so through the campaign we wish to highlight these heroic efforts of our volunteers whilst encouraging them to think of new ideas which can continue to help the wider area.

“Creating a film about local or regional history, and recording the stories of older people has proved to be a really popular idea, and the example in the Esk Valley is a really great way of showing the communities we serve how it can be done.”

For more information contact Ms Swales on revivalnorthyorks@gmail.com, or visit www.ruralyorkshire.org.uk.