Oral History
The Dean Heritage Centre contains an oral history archive thanks to a grant which was part of the NLHF funded Forester's Forest Project.
The archive contains about 200 oral history recordings from the Forest of Dean spanning the 20th century.
The recordings are interviews of Foresters talking about various aspects of their lives in the Forest of Dean. They are fascinating to listen to and reveal what life was like in the Forest fifty to a hundred years ago. People share experiences in mining, forestry, and other industries. They also talk about childhood, schools, shopping, towns, and villages. They also include forest dialect and more.
Elsie Olivey started the collection. She co-founded the Dean Heritage Museum. She noticed Forest life was changing fast. So, she wanted to keep people’s memories by recording them. In an interview on Radio Severn Sound in 1984, Elsie describes why she is doing the interviews:
‘We go out and talk to old people in the Forest. We are trying to get the old ones first because that’s the generation that is fast disappearing. We talk to… men… on mining… and women… domestic service… things on tape you get never read in the history books because you are getting the thoughts of the people themselves’.
Voices from the Forest website https://www.voicesfromtheforest.co.uk/
Forest Dialect website https://forestdialect.wordpress.com/
Collections Officer Nicola Wynn ‘Much has been written about the history of the Forest of Dean, but the recorded interviews further enrich this history by recording the unique personal experiences and memories of people. They really bring history to life and allow us to connect with people’s lives. The recordings reveal the heart and soul of daily life and are by turns fascinating, poignant and moving.’
Another Foresters Forest project Voices from the Forest recorded interviews with people living now. These interviews tell life stories, exploring the work histories of men and women in the Forest of Dean from the late twentieth century. We have added these recordings to the DHC Oral History Archive. We also worked with the Forest Dialect Project. This project explored how the Forest dialect developed and what makes it unique. This project was partly based on DHC oral history recordings.
Volunteers Pat Lacy, Roger Thorne, Alice Paddock, Sue Pawling, Christian Horton, Owen Adams, and Lauren Wynn have done a lot of work. We thank them for their time and efforts. Without them, this project wouldn't have happened.
This project is a key social history archive for the Forest of Dean and is a great resource for historians and anyone interested in it's history.
The interviews cover a wide variety of topics including:
Industry & Work includes:
-Coal mining -Saw mills -Iron mining -Brickworks -Nail making -Tin plate -Transport -Farming -Forestry
-Fishing -Haulage -Teaching -Armed services -Rank Xerox
Home and family life includes:
-Cottages -Furnishings -Washing -Bathing -Toilets -Gardening -Clothing -Lighting -Cooking -Keeping animals
Towns and villages includes:
– descriptions, shops, events, and cinemas.
School
– various school experiences, teachers, walking to school, and games played.
Domestic service
– experiences of various women in what was the most common work for women.
Religion
– church, chapel, Sunday school, temperance, outings, and treats
War
– both WW1 and WW2, life in the armed services and on the home front, Americans in the forest.
Poverty and hard times
– living through the 1920s, 1930s, and war years, living with little money
Strikes/Unions
– General strike of 1926, lockout of 1921, Speech House demonstrations
Sheep
– many miners running sheep
Health
– before the welfare state, doctors, the Dilke Hospital, home remedies, illnesses, and accidents
Dialect
– many examples of strong Forest dialect
Leisure/culture
– choirs, cinema, songs, sport, fairs, days out, walks, social gatherings, events
Camp Mill (now Dean Heritage Centre)
– sawmill, people living in cottages, children playing
Migration
– moving in or out of the forest for work
Miscellaneous
– old customs, humour, courtship
Interviewees include:
Harry Barton, Mary Hale, Amy Adams, Tom Gibbs & William Bowlder
Accessing the recordings
Full recordings – can be accessed by visiting The Dean Heritage Centre
DHC database - this searchable database holding all catalogued records is available at Dean Heritage Centre.
Please contact the Collections Officer Nicola Wynn by email Nicola@deanheritagecentre.com or tel 01594 822170 to make an appointment to visit us.