In 1871 the people of Paris declared independence from the French national government. The city was governed as a revolutionary state, creating shock and excitement across Europe. Although it was brutally suppressed after two months, the memory of the Paris Commune has inspired political radicals ever since.

The Keep holds one of the largest collections in the world of material relating to the Paris Commune. Collected by Eugene Schulkind, a former University of Sussex academic, these posters, newspapers and other records capture the hope, energy and violence of this brief political experiment.

Kevin Bacon will introduce the collection and tell the story of the Commune and its origins in the Franco-Prussian War. Was the Paris Commune a first version of the communist revolutions of the 20th century? Or was it the furious reawakening of a lost past? How does it resonate in today’s world?

And how can you understand any of this if you can’t speak a word of French?!

The Speaker

Kevin Bacon is Collections Senior Manager at the University of Sussex and part of the Keep Management Team. He joined the university in 2023 after 20 years working at Brighton & Hove Museums. He holds Master’s degrees in Political Philosophy and Digital Media.

Researching Brewer and Publican Ancestors by Simon Fowler

Hundreds of thousands of our ancestors ran a pub, worked in a beer house, tavern or coaching inn, or were brewer’s draymen and coopers. The talk tells the story of pubs and the men and women who ran them since Elizabethan times. The public house, in all its forms, has been a key part of local communities for many centuries, and still remains popular today.

The talk will show members how to start researching their brewery and publican forebears, as well as looking at the major sources they will use to find more about these men and women.  Unfortunately there will be no free samples.

History above Your Head – The Origins and Oddities of English Inn Sign with Quiz

Having set up a training business delivering programmes to a wide range of organisations all over the country and abroad, he qualified as a performance coach and a counsellor. Now retired he combines his lifelong passion for history as a speaker to WI’s, Probus, U3A’s, churches and other charitable groups.

Inns were rarely named by accident but were inspired by religion, royalty, heroes and the occasional scandal. This highly visual talk, with a quiz, explains how inns signs originate and traces their development from the Romans to the present day.

I am a retired professional genealogist with considerable experience in English research. I currently serve as the vice chairman and education officer of the Family History Federation (Federation of Family History Societies). I am a Fellow of AGRA (The Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives) the body which represents professional genealogists throughout England and Wales and was a former Chairman.

I am a Fellow of the Society of Genealogists and previously served as a trustee and chairman of the Society Education Committee. I have authored several books in the Society’s “My Ancestor” series including My Ancestor was an Agricultural Labourer, My Ancestor was a Mormon, My Ancestor was in the Royal Navy and My Ancestor was a Leather Worker and have also written “Family History Research Challenges and how to solve them” and “Introducing Manorial Records” published by Family History Books.

I taught Family History at both basic and advanced levels at various adult education centres in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire and currently lecture and run workshops at many family history societies, U3A Groups and other organisations interested in local, social and family history