Hello everyone!
I am Charis and I currently live in Birmingham, West Midlands in the United Kingdom. I will be studying an MA in History of Warfare at University of Birmingham in September and have previously studied BA History at Nottingham Trent University. I am interested in females within history and warfare as a study subject.
I am a Victorian reenactor in my spare time with The Mid-Victorian Militia, so what that means is I dress up as a Victorian and talk to the public about Victorian history. I will soon be starting WW2 re-enactment, too. I am a history section editor with A Little Insight, which is an online publication, I am also part of a research project ran by protests and suffragettes about Scottish suffrage. I also collect 1940’s and 1950’s fashion and I always wear dresses or skirts; you will hardly ever find me in a pair of trousers.
Every Monday I am an assistant beaver leader for children in scouts aged between 5 and 8. I am also going to be learning to fence next year as I am intrigued by fencing.
Careers wise I would like to work in charity, libraries, or heritage. I would like to help people as I enjoy helping others. Careers I would consider include, librarian, educational officer, volunteer manager or community outreach to list a few options. I am passionate about history, women’s rights, and disabilities so I imagine I will work for somewhere that fits one of those passions. I am fascinated by heritage and libraries and believe that everyone deserves fair treatment so I believe I will be happy where ever I end up.
A museum I love is Erewash Museum in Derbyshire which is a small community museum. I love the museum because it is so homely, inviting, and friendly. One of items on permanent display is a female nurses cape in the war room. There is also a Victorian school room set up as one of the uses of the house was as a school for a brief period which I thought was wonderful as it is an exhibition curated for small children specifically. My absolute number one reason why I have chosen Erewash Museum is a collection of WW2 letters called the Hope Robinson Collection which talk about Japanese prisoners of war during WW2 and have been on display as part of an exhibition for a few years. I had the honour of working with those incredibly emotional letters as part of my experience as a volunteer previously.
The biggest issue I would suggest that girls face in modern society is that some people still believe that there are jobs that girls cannot do, which I think is horrifying. I believe a girl can do anything a boy can do. Girls are often still discouraged from certain professions such as lorry driving, engineer, builder, plumber, or electrician. People still believe that hands on jobs are not for girls and that girls are better suited to work that is to do with emotions and people as that is ‘girls stuff.’
-Charis Gambon
Junior Girl
Girl Museum Inc.