H.M.P Acklington is a category C Training Prison located on the edge of the Northumberland Coalfield close to the Friendliest Port of Amble.  The prison currently holds approximately 750 prisoners who are serving a variety of sentences including life.

Two groups of  approximately 20 prisoners took part in the Tomorrow's History: Made in the North East project by researching into the history of both the prison and its previous purpose as a Royal Air Force base.  The prisoners also researched the history of their own home towns and so offered a snapshot of the prison and the people in it.  They wrote of their own histories recalling childhood memories with references to notable events and places in their home towns.

The project, called Acklington Past and Present  was a joint venture between Tomorrow's History, the Prison's Library Service provided by Northumberland County Council's Amenities Division, and its Education Department managed by the New College Durham.  The project recalls a fascinating history of R.A.F. Acklington, which was a former fighter airplane base and Air-Sea Rescue Station, from its beginning before World War One to its closure during the 1970s and on into its present history as a prison.

TOMORROW'S HISTORY

ACKLINGTON PAST AND PRESENT

A LOCAL STUDIES PROJECT COMPILED BY THE PRISONERS OF H.M.P. ACKLINGTON

DECEMBER 2001

INTRODUCTION.

We are a group of prisoners trying to improve our reading skills and writing skills as part of our rehabilitation.  We have worked together  with the  Education Department and the Prison Library to produce a history of the site of RAF and then HMP Acklington.

In Acklington Past and Present  we have created a picture of Acklington, the prison and the locality.  The first part of the project, Acklington Past profiles the history of Acklington settlement from earliest times to the present day with features on the local artist William Hepple and on the distinguished history of R.A.F. Acklington followed by it's conversion into H.M.P. Acklington.

In Acklington Present a group of prisoners have researched individual local history projects combining their childhood memories with structured research on their home towns and villages.  The aim of this section is to provide a personal touch to the website showing the reader that there is a person behind the prisoner.

This project is a collaboration between Northumberland Library Service, New College Durham and H.M.P. Acklington.  Thanks are due to the Information Team and Local Studies Librarian at Morpeth Library who provided the research materials for the project.