Students and Volunteers grow at BPHA

The following is an anonymised selection from the feedback we have received from volunteers this year. All of these volunteers took part in our series of oral interviews with retired workers from a variety of industries, all located in Birmingham and the Black Country.

We hope that sharing some excerpts will reveal the value of volunteering at the BPHA and encourage others to join the 2023-24 crop of University placements and our existing team of volunteers.

What did you enjoy?

Meeting new people, learning about their lives, and getting to know them. It was fascinating to hear about their experiences. I also enjoyed developing my interviewing skills. 

volunteer

It was clear from the moment the interviews started that these individuals were eager to share their life stories. They were always so grateful to have been asked to partake in this project and for their tales and memories to be preserved for generations to come. It made all the work worth it. 

volunteer

There were two main aspects of the project that I enjoyed. Firstly, I enjoyed the conversational element. I really liked that it was conducted around formal yet friendly interviews in order to build a historical narrative. As an interviewer this helped me feel attached to the project but was also enjoyable in being a sociable experience. Secondly, I enjoyed the feeling of contributing to a unique historical perspective. I think this just appealed to my enjoyment of the subject of history itself. However, it felt like a gratifying and worthwhile project to be engaged with, whilst satisfying my own interests.

post-grad student

Has the project helped you gain new skills, learn new things?

I study history at university, but the emphasis is always on the larger picture, such as wider politics or warfare. Moreover, history is almost always focused on the upper class, famous individuals. I enjoyed that the project focuses on the smaller details, how these individuals felt, what they saw, and what they experienced. This project encourages a new approach to the study of history and allows you to engage more closely with it, and I am honoured to have been a part of it.

post-grad student

Would you recommend others do a similar tour with BPHA?

Absolutely! It was great. I not only loved meeting the people I was interviewing but also the lovely people at BPHA and gaining incredible confidence in my interviewing skills.

Of course! It was a fascinating opportunity for anyone (historian or not!) 

Yes, I would definitely recommend the project. It is interesting and enriching. Moreover, it is not so overly time-consuming that it takes away from your studies. Therefore, I think it is the perfect balance of having a volunteering opportunity which can teach you new things and be enjoyable, without detracting from the quality of your academic studies.