About our mission
We want to raise awareness of some of the exceptional people who walked the streets of Burton upon Trent before us. One way of paying tribute to them is to raise funds that help people today in our Staffordshire town. Our vision is to bring the community together to enjoy and discuss stories from the past.
Our latest project is the launch of a book about forgotten Burton activist Vale Rawlings. It is called Friendship, Love & Truth and is available priced £15.99 by emailing valerawlingsprojectcic@gmail.com. All profits go to YMCA Burton and SARAC (Sexual Abuse Rape Advice Centre).
Author and playwright Elaine Pritchard also continues to deliver talks and raise awareness of Burton's fairground ride entrepreneurs Orton & Spooner. Money raised from her book about them, Labour of Love, and talks, goes to Burton & District Mind.
World War One home front hero Lily Thomas is our final story at present. Proceeds from Elaine's talks about Lily also go to YMCA Burton and SARAC.
Who we are
Elaine Pritchard wrote a play about World War One home front hero Lily Thomas of Stapenhill in 2021 and a book, called Labour of Love, about fairground ride makers and entrepreneurs Orton & Spooner in 2022.
William is Secretary of the East Staffordshire Trade Union Council and a trades union historian. The dissertation for his MA looked at industrial relations around the time of World War One.
When Elaine and William began to talk about Vale's story they knew they wanted to put Elaine's fundraising on a more formal footing, so together they founded The Vale Rawlings Project Community Interest Company (CIC) in February 2024.
Elaine and William are volunteers for the CIC and take no payment for their time. All the profits generated through plays, books and talks about Vale Rawlings, Orton and Spooner and Lily Thomas go to local charities. The stories of Lily and Vale generate money for Burton YMCA and SARAC while the Orton and Spooner story generates money for Burton & District Mind.
The current total raised (as at June 16th, 2026) is £9,529.57. Of this, £5,722.37 has been donated to Burton and District Mind and £3,807.20 has been split between YMCA and SARAC.
What we're doing
Author and playwright Elaine Pritchard is available to give talks to groups and organisations about Vale Rawlings, Lily Thomas or Orton & Spooner in return for a donation to the Vale Rawlings CIC. She can be contacted at valerawlingsprojectcic@gmail.com.
Her Orton & Spooner book Labour of Love can still be bought from Amazon and royalties go to Burton & District Mind.
The Vale Rawlings book, Friendship, Love & Truth, is available at the CIC's ko-fi store or by emailing valerawlingsprojectcic@gmail.com