SCOTSPEAK' Sound Archive - Oral History Tape Recordings, Transcripts, Manuscripts, Photographs, Books, Videos, Records & Artifacts

SCOTSPEAK' the charity was first founded in 1994 by Valda Hood-Chin, former BBC broadcaster, who recognised an urgent need to record the histories of the 'ordinary' people who had lived through the events in our History books.

She organised community discussion Groups for people to recount and Recorded their own unique Experiences for posterity. Recordings would then be housed for safekeeping with the SCOTSPEAK Sound Archive.

SCOTSPEAK's vision was to create in Fife a 'Centre of Excellence' committed to the Collection, recording and safekeeping of oral History material.

The venture was made possible in the first instance by a team of dedicated volunteers who worked tirelessly on a shoe-string budget.

Volunteers were in the main, long-term unemployed, single parents, people with health difficulties and those of the 'third-age' - intergenerational in practice as folk worked together, successfully striving towards a common goal - to establish in Fife, a publicly accessible Sound archive facility.

The project also revealed many hidden talents and abilities of volunteer helpers.

Thanks to their hard work a remarkable Collection of Audio recordings has been amassed through working directly in the community, producing oral History training, setting up reminiscence / oral History Groups in clubs or with families in their own homes.

Oral History work also took place in schools, colleges, clubs, organisations, and places of work.

The 'Actuality / Soundscape' recordings are of commemorative / historic events to provide a sense of place and background, to interface with oral History narratives and testimonies of the time.

The 'Sound Pictures' are recordings of peoples who live/d and work/ed in Fife. A Sound archive of collective memories for future generations to learn from and to enjoy..

SCOTSPEAK conSidered oral History important because it provided a vital tool for the understanding of the recent Past and a living record of memories and personal Experiences of individual people.

Fifers also wanted to preserve what was left of local dialects - fast being eroded due to the increased influence of modern media language.

The Sound archive is a Collection of professional and amateur Master recordings, transcripts, Photographs, memorabilia, books, magazines, periodicals, videos, press articles, and other associated Information featuring the people of Fife.

To date, SCOTSPEAK has undertaken a diverse range of oral History projects, including -

Thornton Railwaymen, Miners, Markinch Pigeon Fanciers, Glenrothes Town Twinnings, Town Olympiad, interviews with Fife Centenarians, and at the bequest of Sir George Sharp, Recorded accounts of the Wind-Up of Glenrothes Development Corporation (GDC), including oral History interviews with the late Jack Mackie, recognised as the longest serving Town Councillor in Markinch.

Personality Profile interview recordings with 'Mr Fife', Sir George Sharp; The Earl of Elgin, and Scottish Dance Band Musician, Jimmy Shand.

Oral History Group projects include - 'Young Women and Smoking', Mental Health Survivors, Living with Diabetes, 'My Cancer, My Life', Living Testimonies from Bellsdyke Hospital, Stories of Stratheden Hospital, Fife, 'Residents Reminisce' Recorded at Leslie House & Inchkeith Court, Markinch, and Scottish Co-op Oral History Projects.

Oral History narratives in Scots, Gaelic, and Lallans language.

Examples of individuals projects -

Oral History readings of Childhood and working lives of the ' Two Marjories' from Edinburgh, both published authors and poets.

Mary Docherty, a dedicated Communist and author.

LLife Stories by Fifer, Peter Marroney and Major James Allan from Strathmiglo, Childhood Recollections.

Mrs Christine Irvine's Experiences from the Isle of Wight - she worked as a Tracer for the War Effort and related the Story of having deSigned Churchill's special pressurised capsule which would have allowed him to fly in comfort.

The Bill Thomson Story -'Living with Dyslexia'.

'The Dunfermline Time Capsule', Blessing of the Carnegie Dunfermline Bells, Carnegie Dunfermline Trust Project 2000, 'Sporting Lives' etc.

Sunday 8th May 1945 saw the end of the Second World War in Europe. In Commemoration, Fife Council hosted a special 60th Anniversary Lunch for Fife World War 2 Veterans, held at Glen Pavilion, Dunfermline.

SCOTSPEAK Recorded the event live. The recording also includes Vox Pops, actuality and Sound effects of the 'Fly Past'.

We are grateful to the Unlocking our Sound Heritage project for digitising many of the SCOTSPEAK recordings in 2020.