Welcome

Once Upon a Gosport is a creative heritage project bringing the town’s history to life through storytelling and puppetry.

Working with the local community, we have created a collection of characterful puppets and illustrated storybooks inspired by Gosport’s people, places, and folklore. Together, they invite children to explore local heritage in a playful, imaginative, and hands-on way, helping them build pride in their town while learning through stories that matter.

Once Upon a Gosport has been lovingly created by Annelies James of 22Midnight, bringing together local tales and timeless lessons for new generations to enjoy.

This enchanting project is funded by the Gosport Heritage Grant, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Hampshire Cultural Trust, Gosport Borough Council and Hampshire County Council each helping to ensure our heritage continues to inspire wonder for years to come.

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Meet The Characters

Meet the puppet characters inspired by Gosport’s past and local folklore. Each one has a story to tell, sharing moments of history, imagination, and the values that shape our town.

From pride to adventure, culture and acceptance, sustainability and innovation these characters can support our young people to take pride in their hometown of Gosport and its stories.

Mushy the Monckton Monster

Mushy the Monckton Monster comes from local folklore, linking imagination with the natural landscape around Gosport. Through Mushy, children can explore wetlands, waterways, and the stories people create to explain the world around them.

Character Sheet

Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria connects Gosport to moments of national history, reflecting the town’s importance during Britain’s Victorian era. Her story helps children explore how royal visits, naval power, and everyday life were closely linked along the south coast.

Character Sheet

Tilly the Adventure Cat

Tilly represents the voices of ordinary people who lived and worked in Gosport across generations. Through her story, children can explore daily life, family, and community, and how small personal experiences shape local history.

Character Sheet

Gilby the Gilkicker Weevil

Gilby the Gilkicker Weevil introduces Gosport’s natural heritage, from coastal grasslands to hidden habitats beneath our feet. His story encourages curiosity about wildlife, ecosystems, and how living things depend on their environment.

Character Sheet

Captain Mustafa

Captain Mustafa reflects Gosport’s long history as a place of travel, encounter, and exchange. His story highlights the town’s international connections and the many cultures and people who have passed through its ports over time.

Character Sheet

John Deane the Diver

John Deane the Diver tells a story of innovation rooted in Gosport’s maritime past. Inspired by the invention of early diving equipment, his character explores problem solving, bravery, and the challenges of working beneath the sea.

Character Sheet

Story Books

Step into a magical world where Gosport’s stories spring to life, where the past isn’t something you read about, but something you meet. Here, heroes and heroines, sailors and scientists, inventors and dreamers transcend time, space, and history to share their adventures with you.

Every page is a doorway into Gosport’s spirit of curiosity, courage, and imagination.

Resources

The resources section includes a range of helpful materials to support learning before, during, and after using the Heritage Story Crate.

Here you will find useful documents for teachers, Key Stage 1 and 2 discussion questions, and the illustrated storybooks that accompany each character, making it easy to plan engaging and meaningful activities.

Colouring Book

KS1 & KS2 Character Profiles

Sustainability Activity Sheet

KS1 & KS2 Philosophical Question Sheet

Heritage Passport

Contact

If you would like to get in touch about Once Upon a Gosport or enquire about booking the Heritage Story Crate, please use the contact form below.

When contacting us, it is helpful to include your preferred booking start and end dates, along with a little information about your setting, so we can respond as quickly and accurately as possible.

    With Thanks To...

    Special thanks to Sally Preisig of Mimics Productions for her brilliant support with puppet design, and to Richard Oakes, the fantastic Gosport-based artist and illustrator.

    Huge thanks as well to Charlie Fletcher, Hannah Boyd and the wonderful GHG Girls.

    We’re deeply grateful to our passionate volunteers, Karen Webb, Fiona Hampson, Lin Ord for their dedication in bringing the puppets to life, as well as Sarah Cawte of FlaminGood Craft and her amazing sewing gang.

    And heartfelt thanks to our voice-over artists: Jordan Patrick (Tilly), Ian Richardson (Mushy), Michael Charman (John Deane), Catt Pearce (Queen Victoria), and Sally Preisig (Mustafa and Gilby).

    Projects are only ever as strong as the community behind them, and we’ve been incredibly lucky to work with such an inspiring group of creatives, supporters, and volunteers who made this project possible.