Reference number
  • RIC
Level
  • Collection
Date
  • 1967-1975
Description
  • ┆Taped interviews conducted by Kenneth Richardson, a former history lecturer at Lanchester Polytechnic, Coventry, and his research assistants. Some of these were made during research for his book 'Twentieth Century Coventry' commissioned and published by the City Council in 1972. Also includes files and correspondence relating to the publication of the book and to a research project undertaken by Richardson on the social history of the British Motor Car Industry. These recordings are a valuable resource for those interested in the history of Coventry during the 20th century. People interviewed included major figures in the industries that thrived in the city during the 19th and 20th centuries such as car manufacture, aeroplanes, engineering, bicycles, motorbikes, tractors; and other skills such as watch-making, weaving, and construction. Working and social life is also described – unions, shops, leisure activities, education, religion, people from different backgrounds and communities moving to Coventry for work, local government, politics, different areas of the city, the Second World War. Some of the employers mentioned include Rootes, Standard, Triumph, Jaguar, British Leyland, Morris, Austin, Rolls Royce, Alvis, Humber, Daimler, British Aircraft Corporation, Hawker Siddeley, Armstrong Whitworth, and Courtaulds. Please note that the recordings are of mixed quality and some suffer from issues such as background noise during the recording, variable speeds, and other problems associated with the original reel to reel tapes and recording equipment. The date (if given) for each recording is the date the interview took place.
System of arrangement
  • Tapes arranged in order by number.
Conditions governing reproduction
  • ┆Digital copies of the recordings (and transcripts where available) can be downloaded from the online catalogue for non-commercial use licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 international [license](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Because of the length of time that has passed since these interviews were made, it has not been possible to contact the interviewees out of courtesy to confirm their consent for these interviews to be made available online. The university would welcome contact or comments about the rights of the interviewees, and will take appropriate action if required e.g. rights acknowledgement. There is also a [takedown notice and policy](https://libguides.coventry.ac.uk/archives/policies/notice) covering archive material displayed online.
Access status
  • Open
Conditions governing access
  • ┆The original reel to reel tapes cannot be played because of their fragile nature, and because the university no longer has the equipment to play them on. The files and correspondence are currently uncatalogued.
Extent and medium
  • 1 linear metre (160+ reel to reel tapes; and files).