On Tuesday 24 May, Guild Care’s Chief Executive Suzanne Millard handed over their rich archives to West Sussex Record Office. County Archivist, Richard Childs received the final volumes of minute books dating back to 1933 when the Worthing Council of Social Services (now Guild Care) was founded.
The official handing over of the records followed the publication of two books written by local historian Chris Hare. Guild Care’s archives were instrumental in the writing of ‘Through the Hard Times and the Good’, a social and oral history of Worthing and his most recent book ‘Worthing Under Attack’. Chris said ‘The charity was a local welfare state, providing services for the town, establishing the Citizen’s Advice Bureaus and introducing free health care. Their example was followed across the country, helping to usher in the era of public health care and social services.’
It was Guild Care’s aim to preserve their unique collection of photographs and social history material for future generations to use for reference and enjoyment. Once the extensive collection has been catalogued and documented, it will be made publicly available and will become part of the county’s recorded heritage.