David Gwilliam
Well-Known Member
Apologies that this is one of my notorious long posts. I cannot see how I can make the points I want to without doing so at length. Those who do not like long posts or are not interested in History are as ever advised to skip this.
If it prompts just one person to write down some memories, label their photos or keep a diary then I will feel the length has been justified.
One of the recent developments in History has been the rise in people researching their family history tracing ancestors into Victorian times and far beyond. Anything that takes History away from specialist historians is to be welcomed. I had better say here and now that I am absolutely no expert on researching family trees.
However, it is easy to forget that we are part of History and that in a hundred years time people may well want to find out about our lives. The present decade is especially important for this because not only have most of the Second World War generation died out but the generation who heard their stories is also dying out.
In a hundred years time The Second World War may well be seen as especially fascinating because the leaders were larger than life and unlike the Napoleonic Wars we have them on film. May I suggest that people write down what they were told by parents or grandparents.
The excuse I hear time after time is that the younger generation is not interested. In fact people often become more interested in the history of their family as they get older.
It is not only the part people played as a small cog in great events. There is the soap opera of ordinary lives. How did your parents meet? What jobs did they do? Why did they move house?
I would also suggest that this be put on paper. Modern technology is wonderful but it constantly changes. How many important family memories are rotting on old VHS tapes. Paper is wonderfully durable.
A second great source of family history is the photograph. Most people realise the importance of labelling photographs though many of those never get round to it. However, it is useful if labels are informative. "Mr Hewitt" was cleasrly important to my family between the wars but there is nothing to say why. Was he an employer, a neighbour, a friend?
Another way of helping future historians is keeping a diary. Many people do this on holiday which is great but it is more important to keep a diary of your everyday life.
There is a major problem with keeping a diary and that is privacy. Children start a diary in January but then something happens that they do not want their mum or younger brother to know about so they stop keeping the diary. The answer is don't put anything in it that you would be embarrassed for others to see - such a self-censored diary is much more informative than people expect.
Perhaps the biggest problem in people writing memories, diaries etc is that a lot of people are embarrassed by their lack of writing skill. In fact I have never known anyone who looked at an old document and sneered at the writers literacy skill. On the contrary too much of the writing on say The First World War has been by middle class poets and not enough by the ordinary Tommy. People are delighted to find a document written by ordinary people.
If it prompts just one person to write down some memories, label their photos or keep a diary then I will feel the length has been justified.
One of the recent developments in History has been the rise in people researching their family history tracing ancestors into Victorian times and far beyond. Anything that takes History away from specialist historians is to be welcomed. I had better say here and now that I am absolutely no expert on researching family trees.
However, it is easy to forget that we are part of History and that in a hundred years time people may well want to find out about our lives. The present decade is especially important for this because not only have most of the Second World War generation died out but the generation who heard their stories is also dying out.
In a hundred years time The Second World War may well be seen as especially fascinating because the leaders were larger than life and unlike the Napoleonic Wars we have them on film. May I suggest that people write down what they were told by parents or grandparents.
The excuse I hear time after time is that the younger generation is not interested. In fact people often become more interested in the history of their family as they get older.
It is not only the part people played as a small cog in great events. There is the soap opera of ordinary lives. How did your parents meet? What jobs did they do? Why did they move house?
I would also suggest that this be put on paper. Modern technology is wonderful but it constantly changes. How many important family memories are rotting on old VHS tapes. Paper is wonderfully durable.
A second great source of family history is the photograph. Most people realise the importance of labelling photographs though many of those never get round to it. However, it is useful if labels are informative. "Mr Hewitt" was cleasrly important to my family between the wars but there is nothing to say why. Was he an employer, a neighbour, a friend?
Another way of helping future historians is keeping a diary. Many people do this on holiday which is great but it is more important to keep a diary of your everyday life.
There is a major problem with keeping a diary and that is privacy. Children start a diary in January but then something happens that they do not want their mum or younger brother to know about so they stop keeping the diary. The answer is don't put anything in it that you would be embarrassed for others to see - such a self-censored diary is much more informative than people expect.
Perhaps the biggest problem in people writing memories, diaries etc is that a lot of people are embarrassed by their lack of writing skill. In fact I have never known anyone who looked at an old document and sneered at the writers literacy skill. On the contrary too much of the writing on say The First World War has been by middle class poets and not enough by the ordinary Tommy. People are delighted to find a document written by ordinary people.
