Ruth became a leading member of the Selsey Society research committee, which formed in 2003 with the aim of recording the history of the Parish Council fire brigade, based on a sackful of old Selsey Parish Council records that Peter Ogden had acquired in 1982.
At this time the Society was struggling.
Ruth was elected chairman of the Selsey Society in October 2004, taking over from Stan Iskett. During her chairmanship of over 20 years the Selsey Society achieved a great deal in terms of researching Selsey’s past and bringing it to the attention of its residents.
One of her first tasks involved lengthy negotiations with the Town Council for space in the town hall where the society could house their steadily increasing archives. This was finally achieved in September 2008.
Meanwhile, in June 2008 the 106-page fire brigade book, ‘Putty Medals and Heroes’ was finally published. This title was inspired by one of the fire captains, Charles Wingham who, when notified by the Council that he was to be replaced, sent a reply which included the line: “I sincerely think the Council ought to furnish me with some sort of medal if only putty.” This was a major achievement for Ruth and the rest of the team.
Having already catalogued her own extensive archives; Ruth’s next major task was cataloguing those of the Selsey Society. This has now been passed on to the Manhood Wildlife & Heritage Group and it is proving to be an invaluable resource not only for the Selsey Photo Archive Project but also a range of other local heritage initiatives.
Although Ruth had hoped to resign several times during her 10 years as chairman, she was still in post in 2015 when a lack of new and younger committee members meant the Selsey Society finally folded.
It was soon after this, in 2016, when the committee, via Ruth, proposed the idea of the Photo Archive Project to staff at the West Sussex Record Office and from this initial idea the project was born. She was a key member of the Project Team and continued to provide advice and information, based on her extensive research over many years, right up until her death. If she didn’t know the answer herself, she almost always knew someone who did.
Alongside her leadership of the Selsey Society, Ruth wrote regularly for ‘Selsey Life’ – a community magazine. Her local history articles tell the stories of people, places and events that are significant in Selsey’s heritage. They benefit from Ruth’s meticulous research and were always popular. Many can now be read as blogs on this website. Just a small part of the legacy she has left for the people of Selsey.