Sheffield Kelham Island Museum to celebrate city's industrial past

Tales from Sheffield's steel factories will feature in the exhibition

The stories of the people who worked in Sheffield's industries are to be celebrated in a new city exhibition.

A series of displays at Kelham Island Museum will look at how working people lived across several decades.

Artefacts and stories from the World War One munitions factories to the 1970s steel industry will all feature.

Cheryl Bowen, community curator at Sheffield Museums, said people working in the city's industries were "the bedrock of its success".

A British Steel helmet and goggles were donated for the exhibition

One of the new displays focuses on updating Kelham Island Museum's depictions of women's contribution to industry in the latter half of the 20th Century, a spokesperson added.

The new exhibition would also look at giving a wider global context to the Sheffield-made objects and tools, with displays being informed by recent research exploring the links between Sheffield's tool manufacturing and the trade of enslaved people.Objects on display will include British Steel Corporation safety helmet and glasses from the 1980s, a doll showing what a buffer girl would wear while polishing metal objects, and a Women of Steel Commemorative Token from 2016.

Stories from across the city make up the displays at the Kelham Island Museum

"Sheffield's industrial success was built on innovation and excellence, but the people working in that industry were the bedrock of its success," Ms Bowen said.

"It's wonderful to have the opportunity to celebrate them as part of these new displays, as well as to explore the wider context of Sheffield global trade."

The displays are due to open in April at the Kelham Island site.