EACH year the British Association for Local History (BALH) gives awards for research and publications.

The winners are from a shortlist of articles, drawn from all journals and transactions volumes sent to the Reviews Editor during the previous 12 months.

The assessors look for clear and fluent writing, which is accessible but not over-simplistic; an imaginative approach to the subject, including innovative topics or new perspectives on familiar themes; accuracy in technical matters such as referencing; and the potential for an article to act as a model or an inspiration for others who might consider researching the theme.

It disregards the production quality of the journals, because some societies are well-resourced and can afford a high professional standard while others have limited funds and have to take a more modest route.

The winners are felt by the Reviews Editor and the assessors to be exemplary and to represent the best of "local" local history publishing from across the UK.

BALH feels that the excellent works deserve wider publicity and therefore republishes the two winning articles (one long, one short) in a subsequent issue of "The Local Historian".

The overall winner of the "short article" category was Dr Paul Cleave from Crediton, whose "Gooseberries for the Fleet: the Home Front kitchen in Devon in World War 1" appeared in the Devon Historian (2017) as part of a special themed issue, "Oats, sprats and barley bread: feeding Devon in World War 1".

It began by looking at wartime cookery books (a theme much more familiar from World War 2) and then covers the role of wild food, the importance of local newspapers and especially parish magazines, and references to Devon from national sources.

This was accessible and wide-ranging local history with a good use of contextual material to draw the broader picture.

The article was researched as part of the wider "Devon Remembers the War" project, in conjunction with the University of Exeter.

Paul has a long-term interest in food and its history, and the project enabled him to discover more about the impact of the First World War on the rural community of Crediton and its surrounding villages and hamlets.

Parish records showed how the community – whether gentry, housewives or school children worked together in supporting the greater war effort whilst not forgetting those at home who were in need.

Paul was particularly grateful to Professor Gareth Shaw for his support, and to Bill Jerman for allowing him access to the Cadbury Ruridecanal records held at Holy Cross, Crediton.