History
The BECTU History Project began in 1985 when a group of film professionals, led by Roy Fowler (now our Honorary President), decided to do something immediate and practical to rectify that cumulative loss of memory and achievement and to bring to the project their wide personal knowledge of the industry and its history.
They began to create an archive of oral history recordings by interviewing people from across the sectors; from processing workers and producers to sound assistants and directors. As the project developed, interviews broadened to encompass other professionals including writers and performers.
Today, as our industry continues to grow in its range of diverse skills, we continue to reflect these changes to include these new occupations and new digital media. We are determined to remain relevant to our time and to future generations.
Structure
The History Project is run on an entirely voluntary basis and membership is open to all those interested in actively supporting or participating in its work.
All members of the group are encouraged to participate in our activities, which include researching and archiving, conducting interviews, promoting and representing the History Project at events and conferences and supporting our own professional and social events. Our meetings are held regularly, in London, and we welcome contributions from all members, especially those who cannot attend.
Management Committee
Roy Fowler, President
Mike Dick, Chair
Darrol Blake, Vice chair
Roy Lockett, Ex-chair
Martin Sheffield, Treasurer and Archive Co-ordinator
Sue Malden, Secretary
Elaine Burrows, Database and Documentation
David Sharpe, Archive and Production Co-ordinator
Ian Noah, Digital Development & Communications
Steve Tappin, Communications
Pic: Management Committee 2015
Activities
The BECTU History Project maintains a number of ongoing activities, including:-
- Training and Researching in Oral History production, publishing and archiving activities
- Video recording and editing of interviewees
- Preparing and producing transcripts of interviews
- Indexing and archiving of historic photographs, letters, memorabilia and other related artefacts
- Developing a digital archive and promoting online accessibility for the benefit of public use, including for education and research
- Community educational outreach to schools, colleges and local history groups.
- Fundraising and grant applications and developing partners for sponsorship and collaboration.
Partners
We welcome and encourage a variety of projects in collaboration with partners who are are keen to leverage and disseminate the wealth of social, cultural and historical information in our archives for the benefit of new audiences.
In addition to our Foundation Partners, BECTU and British Film Institute (BFI) Screen Online, our other partners include:-
- ​British Cinema and Television Veterans
- Brunel University London
- Cinema and Television History Research Centre (CATH), De Montfort University
- De Montfort University
- London University (Goldsmiths College and Birkbeck College)
- University of East Anglia (UEA)
- University of Greenwich
- Women’s Work in British Film & Television, 1933-1989