The Bermuda Maritime Museum is renewing its appeal for more information and artefacts about local war veterans for the groundbreaking Bermuda?s Defence Heritage exhibit at the Commissioner?s House.

The exhibit, a tribute to the Island?s forces and war veterans, opened in 2001. However, efforts to collect information on and showcase local war vets is continuing at the museum.

?The response to our appeal for contributions to the exhibition and museum collections has been very fruitful, with surviving veterans, families and other individuals coming forward,? said museum curator Charlotte Andrews.

?Thanks to those donors, we now have a significant assemblage of reference data, oral testimony, personal items, medals, uniforms and wartime ephemera related to specific individuals.

?Still, we believe there is much more in the hands of the community to be gathered and preserved,? she said. ?To keep momentum, we need the community to connect and share with us. This is a call out to the many people we have not yet reached who may have items, information, even memories to turn over for future preservation.

Moreover, we encourage people to research and record the wartime narratives of their parents, grandparents and other ancestors and pass these on. This is immensely helpful to the museum beyond being a personally rewarding experience.?

The Museum plans to publish a book and other media on the history, stories and collections of Bermuda?s war veterans, as well as expanding the exhibit at the Commissioner?s house.

Those interested in contributing may contact Charlotte Andrews by email at curatorbmmibl.bm, or by telephone at 234-1333 ext. 105. They may also contact Dr. Clarence Maxwell by email on registrarbmmibl.bm, or by telephone on 234-1333 ext. 106.