Memories of the Moon Landing

Where were you when Apollo 11 landed on the Moon? In this blog Dr Sally Horrocks pulls together recollections from the Oral History archives…




Magnetic Tape Alert Project

The Magnetic Tape Alert Project is an initiative of the Information for All Programme (IFAP) Working Group on Information Preservation. Photo: Bernhard Graf, Vienna Phonogrammarchiv Today’s knowledge of the linguistic and cultural diversity of humanity is widely based on magnetic tape recordings produced over the past 60 years. Magnetic audio…




Alan Turing on the £50 note

Alan Turing as told through An Oral History of British Science by those who worked with him in Manchester.




Recording of the week: Rinding gumbeng from Central Java

This week’s selection comes from Michele Banal, Audio Project Cataloguer for Unlocking our Sound Heritage. Rinding gumbeng is a style of Central Javanese folk music that, although not widespread, is still common in the rural Gunungkidul area, about 50 km east of Yogyakarta, where it is performed at harvest rituals…




Partition memories and the power of oral testimony

BBC journalist and author Kavita Puri reflects on the power of oral testimony. Hear more from Kavita at the British Library on Tuesday 16 July at 7pm, where she will discuss Partition Voices in conversation with Kirsty Wark.