The Lake District Holocaust Project began in 2005 and has an extensive micro archive assembled over twenty years, and continues to grow. Sited in independent space on the first floor of Windermere Library the archive is located just a mile from where the wartime village of Calgarth Estate once stood, which was the first UK home for three hundred young Jewish Holocaust survivors who came to the Lake District directly from the camps in 1945.

The archive was the primary source for the story as featured in the 2020 Wall to Wall/BBC/Warner Bros film "The Windermere Children" and the documentary "The Windermere Children - In Their Own Words".

The Lake District Holocaust Project archive is divided into sections and forms a multifaceted and interconnected story reflecting the different elements that surround the story of the Calgarth Estate site, not least the story of the child survivors and the unique community that welcomed them.

With a start point of 1909 and early Pioneer Age hydro aviation development through to the World War Two Shorts flying boat factory at White Cross Bay and the arrival of the Jewish children, and continuing on to encompass the present day Windermere and area.

An ongoing archaeology programme led by Prof Caroline Sturdy Colls covers all three elements of the Calgarth Estate site story.

A. Windermere Children

1. Over 150 interviews with Holocaust survivors, Calgarth residents, factory workers, Droomer Estate residents.

2. Total material to be archived/transcribed/will be placed on a publicly available database and includes  interviews, photographs, and film archives.

• Historic letters from the Boys and Girls, original hand written journal from 1946, religious artefacts from Windermere (including a Tefillin and Tallit from Windermere Boy, given to him in Windermere in 1945) and copies of World Jewish Relief files on individual survivor children from 1945. Original letters will be digitised and include original photograph albums from the survivors, and collections from survivors and families, including Belsen liberation photographs, cloth Star of David from ghetto clothing, dreidels from Krakow ghetto, clothing worn in Windermere, tailoring equipment owned and used by the children (dressmaking scissors, hole punch, thread, needles), 45 Aid historic headwear, Pears Cyclopedia 1942 (as owned by a survivor in Windermere).

• Historic travel and research photos and film of camps, museums, from Another Space/LDHP visits to Poland, Czech Republic and Europe since 2005. Over a hundred hours of film.

• Library of nearly 500 books on the Holocaust and Jewish culture, first edition Auschwitz Album book from Israel and first edition "Flowers of Auschwitz" book by Tolkatchev.

• Over 5000 historic photographs from survivors, former residents of Calgarth and factory workers. The collection continues to grow.

• Video collection of donated survivor testimonies and books written or about Windermere Boys and Girls.

B. Early years Pioneer hydro aviation on Windermere - artefacts.

1. John Gordon Archives of personal papers, artefacts and journals owned by EW Wakefield of Kendal early 20th century aviation pioneer and Boer War, WW1 experiences. Incredibly rare and much sought after in aviation circles.

2. John Gordon Archives Ten storage boxes currently in Kendal Archives including:

• WW1 experiences and artefacts

• WW1 Biography; Research notes - Boer War; Book chapters; Preface introduction;

• Pioneer Hydro aviation material from two plastic crates of files of correspondence including original letters and documents from Waterbird/Waterhen experimental period (letters form AV Roe etc) and letters from early pioneer flyers.

3. Wakefield family donation of rare, leather bound comprehensive collection of Flight Magazine owned and collected by EW Wakefield with early pioneer notes and jottings by EW Wakefield.

• Twenty nine volumes estimated value £30K

C. Calgarth and White Cross Bay factory artefacts.

1. Short Sunderland artefacts, altimeter, fuel tank material, pulley wheel, crash fragments, all from Windermere built Sunderlands. Very rare signed flying boat photograph, payslips, employee documents.

D. Archaeology collection

1. Extensive artefacts and objects from Calgarth excavations with HUddersfield University Centre for Archaeology.

Toothpaste tube from Theresienstadt, child toys, comb, penknife, fork, spoon, house remains, from Calgarth archaeology dig 2019-2022.