Oral History - guide to resources: West Midlands

This website includes recorded interviews and a video produced as part of a project, established in 1990, to record the memories of older generation black and asian migrants to Birmingham.

Topics: People

Keywords: family; migration; race; work

From 1999-2000 this project recorded the experiences of African-Caribbean and Asian migrants to Wolverhampton since the Second World War. Video clips from the interviews are accessible online. The archived clips are searchable by theme, and also by the respondent’s gender, ethnic origin, religion and country of origin.

Topics: People

Keywords: community; migration; race

The Corner Shop was a social history project to document Black Country shops from 1950-2010. Community volunteers were given training and asked to interview corner shop-owners, their families, and their customers. 31 interviews were recorded in total. Audio extracts from the interviews are available to listen to online.

Topics: People; Work

Keywords: community; family

This project was established in 2005 at a reunion of the first ‘pioneer’ intake of students to the University in 1950. Students who attended the University from 1950 to 1972 have been interviewed about their memories of the University. Transcribed extracts from the interviews are available to read on the website.

Topics: Education

Keywords: students; university; education

This oral history project, undertaken by the University of Warwick in association with Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum (LASGM), investigated the changing practice and experience of spa therapy during the second half of the twentieth century. 21 written extracts, from interviews conducted with former staff, patients, and medical practitioners of the Royal Pump Rooms in Leamington Spa are currently available online. There are plans to make the entire interview transcripts accessible in the near future.

Topics: Science & Medicine; Work

Keywords: healthcare; leisure

This project recorded the memories of individuals involved in work and industry in the area of Nuneaton and Bedworth during the 20th century. The audio files, and summaries or written transcripts, of over 25 interviews are available to access online. It is possible to search the interviews by keyword.

Topics: Work

Keywords: engineering, industry; mining; union; WWII