Birmingham couple find purpose in the city’s old recordings

History Desk 2026-10-07 12:00 2 min read

A person searching through a curated collection of vintage vinyl records.

By demoduck.co.uk

Phil and Jan hoped volunteering would give them something to do outside the house — perhaps even on different days. Instead, the retired couple found themselves visiting Birmingham’s Museum Collection Centre together, listening to voices from the city’s past.

Their work with Birmingham Museums Trust involves transcribing recorded interviews and checking existing transcripts, contributing to the wider task of preserving oral histories. It forms part of Voices of the City, a project making the Birmingham Museums City Sound Archive publicly available.

In a personal account published by Birmingham Museums Trust Stories, they describe how their daughter Sarah, already a museum volunteer, encouraged them to apply.

A shared routine after retirement

Phil retired in May 2013, having left work to help care for his mother. After she died in 2021, aged 100, he found himself at a loose end. He and Jan applied for the oral history work in 2023; Jan dates her volunteering with the Trust to March 2024.

Neither wanted a public-facing role. Listening through headphones suited them, although their plan to volunteer separately never took hold. Phil says they attend together most weeks.

Jan brought experience of transcribing historic birth, marriage and death records. She describes the museum interviews as interesting and sometimes challenging, with opportunities to learn and meet other people.

From Nechells memories to Birmingham’s music scene

Led by Siobhan Stevenson, the oral history work covers several collections. Childhood explores early memories around the First World War, while Heartlands records recollections of Nechells and Duddeston, near the Museum Collection Centre.

The couple began with Vibes, which focuses on Afro-Caribbean music culture in Birmingham from the 1980s onwards. Interviewees include sound-system MCs, band members and musicologists discussing musical traditions and influences.

For Phil, those recordings connected his interests in music and history. For readers and listeners, the transcripts provide a readable route into personal recollections that would otherwise require listening to the recordings.

The City Sound Archive contains interviews with Birmingham people from the 20th and 21st centuries. Some recordings are available through the Trust’s Digital Asset Resource; its volunteering page provides information for people interested in contributing.

Source: Birmingham Museums Trust Stories

Context & actions About this article

Source check About the source

This article draws on Phil and Jan's personal account published by Birmingham Museums Trust Stories.

Checks

Distinguished the couple's application in 2023 from Jan's stated volunteering start in Mar...
Used the supplied account to describe transcription work and the Childhood, Heartlands and...
Attributed personal experiences to the volunteers and included no unconfirmed recruitment...

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