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For a historical record, the spoken word will always outweigh shelves of books. That simple premise is what led to the book “Island Voices,” a collection of transcripts of interviews recorded by myself, Alan Stroud, with Colin Fairweather, in the 1980s. I had the equipment for making high quality recordings so we recorded several long interviews with people then in their eighties who had experienced a way of life that no one will ever live again, and in some cases a way of life that no-one would ever want to live again. They all welcomed the chance to record their stories, which ranged from comprehensive anecdotes to the smallest details of everyday life that usually go unrecorded in history books.
The reward for allowing us to talk to them all those years ago is that our subjects have now achieved immortality of a sort and although modest to a man or woman, they would be pleased and flattered to see their words have lived on after them.
There has been some recent interest online in hearing the original recordings. I still have the complete set of high quality recordings, still on their original reels of tape, safely stored away. I made digital copies of the tapes some years ago and I’m happy to make them available. To that end, the Internet, and in particular, the Isle of Wight History website, now provide the perfect way for the recordings to reach a wider audience. Hopefully, some who listen to the recordings will be able to hear the long lost sound of a relative’s voice.
In each case, I have edited the recordings, which originally ranged from between an hour and a half and two hours, down to roughly ten minutes. Alan Stroud, 2024.
Produced by Island Voices. Hosted by Isle of Wight History Centre. 2024. |
