Portrait of W. J. Holloway, taken in 1893. Copyright National Portrait Gallery. It is not often that you can hear the voice of someone born more than 180 years ago. Actor W. J. (William James) Holloway was born in Westminster in 1843 but at the age of thirteen his family…

We are deeply saddened to report the passing of Patrick Sellar who died in November at the age of 95. Patrick Sellar co-founded the wildlife section in 1969 along with BBC natural history broadcaster Jeffery Boswall. Though Patrick never worked for the sound archive in an official capacity, he was…

Poster advertising the launch of the first National Lottery draw on the 19th Novemeber 1994. Image by Jonathan Player This November we’re celebrating the National Lottery’s 30th Birthday! For three decades now the National Lottery has been a driving force behind countless heritage projects across the UK. With the National…

We’re delighted to announce that the sound archive now has the privilege of housing one of only two Endpoint cylinder replay machines in Europe, expanding our capabilities for preserving historical audio recordings in the UK. This exciting development was made possible by the Unlocking our Sound Heritage project, generously supported…

An evocation of emotional memory for the healing of past trauma, separation and loss Guest blog by Edison Fellow Jonathan Emeruwa Fisk Jubilee Singers I am hoping to show through my essay the way in which melodic arrangement in certain African American classical music compositions and African American spirituals from…