LTP AWARD

[Stanley]

LTP AWARD

8 July 2004

I got mail yesterday from a lady who informed me that “The Association of Industrial Archaeologists have decided to give you their annual Fieldwork and Recording Initiative Award which we shall give as a Life Time Achievement Award for your excellent work on the Lancashire Textile Project.”
I knew I was nominated but had let it drop off the radar because the idea of getting a national award seemed so preposterous. Well, it might be but they have decided otherwise!
In truth, this award is not for me, it’s for all the ordinary people who opened up and proved that not only were they articulate but they had a wonderful story to tell on many levels. Apart from being a goldmine of technical information about the processes and management of cotton weaving by steam, they gave a very detailed and clear picture of the family, social and economic life of the town. Most of them are dead now and my only regret is that we can’t hire a bus and all descend on the awards ceremony in August. Just imagine that!
The bottom line is that I was in the right place at the right time and was able to give them a voice. All their lives they were the powerhouse of the national economy and totally ignored. Nobody can ignore them now, their testimony is spread all over the world and will survive. So any award I get pales into insignificance beside that fact, they are on the record, their story is told and because they are the most complete source of oral information on the subject they will be remembered.
If there’s one thing I’d like to see come out of all this it is that others should do the same thing. Get out there and record your grandparents, give them a voice and do all you can to spread the information. It’s the best memorial they could have.

8 July 2004