“What does family mean to you?”: Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month

Richard Kerridge, History Subject Advisor

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month has taken place every June since 2008. Its purpose is to celebrate the histories and cultures of Gypsy and nomadic communities including Romany Gypsy, Irish Travellers and Roma. This year the focus of the event is “What does family mean to you?”, and it provided me a chance to think about, and share, a bit of my own family history.

My family history

I knew that my maternal grandad left his family and the fairground travelling community as a young man so that he could settle down in Wisbech and marry. But this part of my family history was never really mentioned. There were the fleeting visits from a mysterious ‘Uncle’ Bertie who visited once a year to see my great-aunt and always left a shiny ten-pence piece for me and my brother. I now know that his visits were while he was at the Cambridge Midsummer Fair. 

This sentimentalised family history has never impacted me. You would never know that I have fairground ancestry. I have never faced racist abuse: why would I – I am “male, pale and stale”. Sadly, this is not the case for countless members of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community. This is a group only recognised in the census since 2011, and categorising such a diverse group of people is very problematical. 

My mum died last year and while going through old photos we came across this 1970s snap of one of her family’s fairground rides. I shared it with my children and they said that it made this hitherto unknown part of their history feel real. Mum used to talk about either King George V or VI visiting the King’s Lynn fair in the 1930s and visiting their family shooting gallery. There was always talk of a photograph of this but one has never been found.

What does family mean to me?

I’m the eldest of two brothers. We’re both now in our fifties with our own children and, in my brother’s case, grandchildren. Since our mum’s death we have both felt the urge to revisit our family’s past. In a local cemetery we discovered a great-great-grandfather. This man was an architect and a Primitive Methodist lay-preacher. If you look closely at commemoration plates on Methodist chapels in parts of East Anglia and the East Midlands you might see ‘J. Kerridge & Son’ engraved in the stone. I took pleasure in the fact that he was a Primitive Methodist, I hope he was a good man. He does seem to have been responsible for populating most of Wisbech with an impressive thirteen children from two marriages, although not all of them survived into adulthood. One of those children was my great-grandad, himself the father of ten. 

It’s fair to say that recently I have connected to my dead family and am enjoying dipping into family tree research. But what of the living? I have upwards of thirty-five cousins, sadly not all of them still alive. Several came to my mum’s funeral, along with their elderly parents, my uncles and aunts. There is an unspoken bond between us. A shared history of growing up together that means even after thirty or more years of no contact we can pick up where we left off. A kinship.

Celebrating Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month in June is a time to celebrate Romany Gypsy, Irish Traveller, Roma and nomadic communities, including boaters, showmen and new travellers. It’s also an opportunity to educate and raise awareness of the barriers and issues affecting traditionally nomadic communities. 

This year, the theme of “What does family mean to you?”, looks at the importance of family for many travelling communities and the different forms that family and relationships can take. 

For me, the act of writing this blog about what family means to me and sharing it on social media is a simple thing to do to show solidarity with traveller communities. Is there something you could do – in or outside school? 

Here are some suggestions for resources and further reading: 

• The wonderful people at York Clio have produced lesson resources for KS3. 
• The Historical Association has a page to support teachers. 
• Use social media to shout about the work your school is doing to include students from these communities in your lessons. 
• Follow dedicated GRT social media accounts: @GypsyTravellerM and @GypsyTravellers are two good accounts to get started. There are many regional accounts too.

Stay connected

Share your thoughts in the comments below. If you have any questions, you can email us at history@ocr.org.uk call us on 01223 553998 or message us on X (formerly Twitter) @OCR_History. You can also sign up to receive subject updates to keep up-to-date with the latest news, updates and resources.

About the author

Richard joined Cambridge International Assessment in September 2019 and OCR in October 2022. Prior to joining OCR he taught history for seventeen years. He was a Deputy Head of Sixth Form, Head of Humanities and SSAT Lead Practitioner as well as writing and contributing to text books and exam-board resources. He has presented at the Historical Association and Schools History Project annual conferences and for Keynote Education. Richard is very proud to be an Honorary Fellow of the Historical Association. He enjoys being surrounded by his family, friends and two dogs.