Friday 18th November sees Children in need return to our screens. 

But what is it about? 

Every year, the BBC and other partners join a huge fundraising drive to raise money for children’s charities across the UK. This culminates in a BBC TV Appeal show on Friday 18th November where celebrities come together to provide entertainment, raise funds, and inspire people to donate to the cause by sharing stories of the children the charity supports. 

“We fund thousands of charities and projects in every corner of the UK, that support children and young people to feel and be safer, have improved mental health and wellbeing, form better, more positive relationships and be given more equal opportunities to flourish.” 

This blog post will take a little look at the history of Children in Need and how you can watch the action using the University’s subscription to BoB (Box of Broadcasts)! 

History of Children in Need 

Here are some highlights from the almost one hundred years that Children in Need has been fundraising: 

• 1927 saw (or heard!) the first ever children’s BBC radio appeal, with £1300 raised for children’s charities.  
• It wasn’t until 1955 that the first televised appeal graced our screens – a Christmas appeal presented by Sooty and Harry Corbett. 
• In 1980, the first Children in Need telethon raised £1 million, presented by Terry Wogan, Sue Lawley and Esther Rantzen. 
• In 1985, Pudsey Bear became the BBC Children in Need mascot. He has had several makeovers over the years, going from brown to yellow and has also changed the design of his bandana a few times!  

• In 2007, at 22 years old, he became the Pudsey we know today, with a colourful polka-dotted bandana. 
• 2011 and 2012 saw Matt Baker take on the Rickshaw challenge, and in 2009 Children in Need celebrated its 30th televised appeal. 
• In 2018, £1 billion had been raised for Children in Need since 1980. Wow! 

For a complete history of Children in Need see the links at the bottom of the page. 

Pudsey Bear on a blue circle

Appeal Night Friday 18th November: 

This year the Children in Need programme is called the ‘Great SPOTacular Appeal Night’ on Friday 18th November, and will be live on BBC One and iPlayer. 

The presenters for this year have been announced, you can see them here. 

Not in on Friday 18th November? Don’t worry, you can catch up on Box of Broadcasts. 

Box of Broadcasts (BoB) gives students and staff at Edinburgh Napier access to TV and radio recordings. BoB allows you to view TV and radio programmes from the BBC and choose and record upcoming broadcast programmes (you need to be in the UK to use BoB).  

BoB is available at Learning on Screen or via the LibrarySearch A-Z Database list. 

See BoB short video tutorials and frequently asked questions.  

For more info about Children in Need and Box of Broadcasts: 

https://www.bbcchildreninneed.co.uk/about-us/what-we-do/ 

https://www.bbcchildreninneed.co.uk/about-us/history/ 

https://my.napier.ac.uk/library/finding-resources/tv-for-learning 

By Judy Wheeler

Book Week Scotland is an annual celebration of books and reading, organised by the Scottish Book Trust to promote the joy of reading throughout Scotland.  Between 14-20 November, a packed programme of in-person and online events and activities will take place in venues across the country. See the Scottish Book Trust website for more information about events taking place near you.  

Every year, the Scottish Book Trust invite people from all over Scotland to write about their experiences and tell their stories as part of the Your Stories project. The theme for 2022 is Scotland’s Stories. As part of Book Week Scotland, a collection of these stories will be published in a book which will be freely distributed in venues throughout the country.  

Edinburgh Napier University are pleased to be able to offer copies of Scotland’s Stories to students and staff. Pick up your copy in one of the campus libraries or student residences between 14-20 November before they’re all gone!   

Logie with Scotland’s Stories

You can join Book Week Scotland on Facebook or follow Book Week Scotland’s Twitter updates at twitter.com/BookWeekScot, and by using the hashtag #BookWeekScotland. 

Don’t forget, you can browse the thousands of books and journal articles available to students and staff at Edinburgh Napier University by using LibrarySearch.   

By Sarah Jeffcott

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marks Armistice Day and 104 years since the end of the Great War. From that moment on, this day has become a day of Remembrance. Although particularly mindful of those affected during the First World War, this solemn day is dedicated to remembering all those who died in the line of duty in conflicts, old and new.

The oldest part of the buildings at the Craiglockhart campus played an important role during the First World War when it was requisitioned for use as a military hospital for the treatment of officers recovering from shell shock (or neurasthenia, as it was then officially called). During the hospital’s twenty-eight months of operation between 1916 and 1919, around 1,800 officers were assessed and treated at Craiglockhart, including the famous war poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. To honour their memory, Edinburgh Napier University established the War Poets collection in 1988, and in 2005 a dedicated exhibition space opened in the entrance and foyer area of the former war hospital. The exhibition recounts the stories of those affected by war and remembering their lives plays a central role within that.

For Edinburgh Napier University, this Remembrance Day will also be inextricably linked to the memory of Catherine Walker MBE. Although not military personnel, Catherine was the face of the War Poets collection for many years, introducing audiences new and old to the (extra)ordinary stories behind each and every item in the collection. As part of her work, she contributed to preserving the memory of all the officers who passed through Craiglockhart War Hospital, many of whom – after having been discharged back into duty upon recovering at Craiglockhart – did not live to see the world rejoice the official end of the war at 11am on 11 November 1918. A beloved member of staff at Edinburgh Napier University, this month marks one year since Catherine passed. Her work and love for the collection will be remembered, and the new Special Collections team look forward to continuing – and building on – her legacy.

In memory of Catherine Walker, curator of the War Poets Collection at Craiglockhart. Photographed for the relaunch event on 1st November 2016

By Laura Cooijmans-Keizer