Oral history interviews moving online

Tuesday 16 January 2024

A team of volunteer oral history interviewers are looking forward to starting the exciting task of collecting the stories of credit union pioneers from across the north of England.  The Save and Sound Project has adapted to the Covid-19 pandemic by moving online and is ready to start interviews in the New Year.

Volunteers with the Credit Union Oral History and Heritage Project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, have carried out training with the Oral History Society.  They are now getting in some practice on an online platform where high quality audio can be recorded and a video link means people can see each other during the interview.

Microphones and headphones will be sent to interviewees, so they do not need to have any special equipment beyond a computer and a broadband connection.  Phone interviews will also be available, for those who may find connecting online difficult.

Project Manager Abbie Shelton said: “Thanks to our great team of volunteers and the really useful advice we have received from the British Library and the Oral History Society, we’ve been able to get everything we need in place to start interviewing people from January 2021.  And we are confident that we’ve done all we can to make the process as simple as possible for interviewees.

“We will now start scheduling in interviews with people who have already been in touch, but we are still really keen to hear from anyone who has stories and memories to share, no matter what role they played in the credit union sector.”

The project is also developing a new website that will host clips, photos and other material from credit unions.  Events to share the findings of the project will take place in 2021.

Anyone who is interested in contributing their memories or who has photos or other material to share should contact Abbie at abbie.shelton@creditunionfoundation.org.uk / 07498 928 188

More information can be found at the Credit Union Foundation website: https://www.creditunionfoundation.org.uk/projects/save-and-sound/contributing