Oral History - guide to resources: West Midlands

Project founded in 1990 by a charitable donation "to collect, preserve and disseminate the spoken history of Birmingham's black population". The collection includes oral history interviews with 25 people conducted between 1990 and 1992, who originated from the Caribbean or South Asia and covered a range of themes including first impressions, religious experiences, education, experiences of racism, identity, as well as their thoughts on the future. 5 interview recordings are available online through the link above. An archived version of the original project website contains many transcripts at https://web.archive.org/web/20190216022803/http://www.bbohp.org.uk/node/21 . Physical archives (incl. tapes) are at the University of Brimingham - see the record on Archives Hub .

Topics: People

Keywords: family; migration; race; work

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.

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.

Topics: Science & Medicine; Work

Keywords: healthcare; leisure

Oral history project to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the University in 2015, capturing the memories of those who had studied, worked and lived near Warwick University since its creation in 1965.

Topics: Education

Keywords: university

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