2 quick reactions: firstly, there seems to be something of an assumption that we are still in contact with that 'early' location whereas I guess many of us are now far removed from it physically and culturally. The second point is that while there is always value in interchange, I'm not sure what further purpose is served by this exercise.
Stan

I don't think 'contact' is needed. I can remember quite clearly (and describe) growing up in London SW6 during the war.

As for further purpose, well I can't think of any, except that I took great pleasure in reading your reminiscence of Wembley and the 1948 Olympics at http://worldu3a.org/cooperation/breakthroughresults.htm - might that be "further purpose" enough?

Whilst I understand Stan's point about 'purpose' I think any interchange of thoughts is valuable in its own right. The correspondence I have had in U3Atalk on the different approach to gardening and life in general here and in the area of Australia where Charlie lives has been fascinating.

There have been so many cultural changes in our lifetimes that our own childhoods would appear as alien to our grandchildren as those of our contempories in the far flung corners of the world that this Wiki will reach. The knowledge we gain may not prove of great practical benefit, but it will be fascinating for all that.

Maybe my one concern is that with so many disparate Wikis now being created, there is a risk that the lack of a coherent structure will mean we loose track of which is which. No doubt the principle of 'survival of the fittest' will prevail and some will thrive and evolve and others will fall by the wayside.

I think Daphne Sirrett (Subject Network Coordinator) should become aware of the Wiki principle as it could be a boon to Study Group Network Coordinators. I will pass on the word!

I can see no better reason to exchange memories and ideas about the place where you were born/grew up than the fact "that many of us are now far removed from it physically and culturally". Thus you will not only be sharing these memories with others, but with yourself as well. The purpose would be to go on a journey, because 'the past is a foreign country - they do things differently there'.

Rick here - I see I'm listed as anonymous; I guess I didn't register correctly.
First of Tom I'd like to congratulate you on your initiative in introducing wikis to our growing armament of communications and sharing tools. I'm not familiar with this medium and look fwd to learning how I can use the idea to shake a few U3A branches over here. For U3As to remain relevant in the lives of new ageing cohorts we must embrace new ways of doing things,m as well as building on the old, or slip quietly into the backwater of irrelevance, in much the same way that most of the clubs and organisations which were popular with our parents, have done.
My concern about the wiki idea is are we trying to find a use for a new medium when other tools might be better. For example, I need only think of Grannies Kitchen, and Timewitnesses as superb examples of how an archive of memories can be made accessible to everyone. This project fits into the archive of memories and when we push the idea to others will the reaction be similar to mine - why do this when we already have web pages that do the job?
Of course the best way for me to answer my own concerns will be to post a memory of my own. I'll do that shortly but why would I want to be able to edit Tom's or someone else's story? Any comment I add to his story wcould interrupt the flow or worse, ruin the whole story.
Congrats again Tom. I'm delighted to be asked to be part of this small groups of ideas people.

I have added mine in, however it doesn't seem to appear in the sidebar. Nonetheless, what a great idea!