Transported for the Rest of Your Natural Life! A Talk by Mike Randall

Learn about the sufferings of “unfortunate and melancholy souls” convicted at Dorchester Assizes in the late 18^th and 19^th centuries and what befell them and the families they left behind.

Mike Randall is a former head-teacher and experienced public speaker and genealogist who has contributed to Family Tree Magazine. He is also a volunteer at Shire Hall courthouse museum in Dorchester where he has carried out extensive research into the lives of transported prisoners and their families.

This event is being held in support of Dorset Archives Trust, a charity that works to preserve and promote Dorset’s rich archival heritage. Its strapline is ‘Saving Dorset’s disappearing history’ and it undertakes this work by fundraising, holding events, supporting projects and promoting the value of archives. DAT works closely with the Dorset History Centre in Dorchester which holds archive collections dating back over 1000 years from across Bournemouth, Poole and wider Dorset.