Category: Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History

Create a collage of hope for History Month

Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT) has launched the theme for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month (GRTHM) 2026 and has extended.

Individuals and groups of children are invited to create collages expressing their dreams and aspirations, and the future they want to build together.

‘Onwards with Hope’.

This year, GRTHM will be focusing on present and future Romany Gypsy, Roma, Irish Traveller, New Traveller, Showmen and Liveaboard Boater aspirations and dreams, and what kind of future we want to build together.

As part of the festivities, we’re asking schools and children create a collage surrounding this year’s theme of ‘Onwards with hope’, looking at what hope means, how we can continue to foster hope, and what we want the future to look like.

Pupils and groups of students could win up to £100 worth of book vouchers for submissions. The deadline for submission is 12th June.

A photo of your collage should be sent to comms@gypsy-traveller.org by 12th June. We’ve created a double page spread with some inspiriation to help you get started. Click here.

Other resources from Friends and Families of Travellers 

The Tinker Experiment

The Tinker Experiment lasted from 1940 until 1980 and was a programme designed to integrate Scottish Travellers into mainstream Scottish society through forced settlement in substandard buildings. It was supported by the UK government, the Church of Scotland and Scottish local authorities. Nomadic families risked having their children taken into care if they didn’t attend school regularly. 

The Tinker Experiment

The BBC Radio 4 programme History on the Edge interviews residents of Bobbin Mill near Pitlochry where, in 1946, the McPhee family and other Gypsy Travellers were moved into an old wartime hut converted for four families. The accommodation was small and overcrowded for the nine McPhee children and their parents, and was without amenities such as electricity. There was also asbestos in the walls which wasn’t removed until the 1980s. 

At Bobbin Mill, Anita meets Shamus McPhee and three of his sisters who still live on the site. Old holiday chalets have in recent years replaced the hutted accommodation and they now have electricity and running water. Yet the family still suffer hardship and discrimination despite having been to university and contributed to society. Prejudice against Gypsy Travellers runs so deep among the settled community that they’ve found it difficult to get work if they reveal their background. And – having fallen between the settled and the nomadic ways of life – none of them has found a life partner or had children.

The McPhees are now seeking an apology from the Scottish Government as they feel their lives have been blighted by the Tinker Experiment. 

Folk Arts and Communities day at UEA

The Gypsy and Traveller contribution to the English Folk tradition will be recognised at a free Education Development Day on 15th November at the University of East Anglia in Norwich.

Hazel Marsh and Dr Esbjörn Wettermark introduced the Gypsy & Traveller Voices in Archives project at the ACERT Conference in February. Here they are joined by Candy Sheridan and Gloria Buckley in a day of activities.

Here are the full details.

FEDD-Nov23-NorwichDownload