Fragile tapes are giving the South West its voices back

A Cornish expression, a fisherman’s memory, a musician explaining how he learned: some history survives in voices that were never written down.

Across the South West, archivists are rescuing those recordings from deteriorating tapes and making them available to hear online.

The Sounds of the South West team at Bristol Archives has digitised around 3,000 items from roughly 8,000 gathered so far, the BBC reports. About 100 recordings are already on its website, with around 1,500 clips planned.

Dorset History Centre has contributed more than 150 items for digitisation. They include memories of local cinemas and recordings from Bournemouth’s former Yellow Buses company, adding everyday working and cultural life to the collection.

Preservation takes time. Staff must trace copyright holders and interviewees before sharing material, and the current collection could take another three years to digitise.

But listeners need not wait for every tape. The growing online library already lets people hear local accents, experiences and music memories in the voices of those who lived them.

Sources

• BBC News — recordings rescued and current progress
• Dorset History Centre — cinema and transport recordings
• Sounds of the South West — the listening library and preservation work