Special Collections: Online talks

During early 2024, the Special Collections team at London Metropolitan University introduced a series of online talks with community partners, teaching colleagues and collection depositors about their work and involvement in the archives we hold.

From these online talks we wanted to:

• understand more about how our archives were collected
• hear from those who collected them - why and for what purpose?
• share how these archives can be used to support research

At present we have three online talks planned, and hope to expand the series throughout 2024 and beyond.

Irish in Britain is a charity and national membership network founded in 1973 for Irish community groups throughout Britain. Originally established as the Federation of Irish Societies and rebranded in 2013 as Irish in Britain, the organisation has a membership of over 100 Irish charities, societies and groups. The activities of the membership range from welfare, housing, support and advice services to cultural activities, sports, arts, music, theatre and language.

Irish in Britain provides member support services and has a strategic role in representing issues common to its membership and the wider diaspora. 

Online talk details:

Wednesday 7 February, 2024 (13:00-13:45)

David Baldwin (Head of Special Collections, London Metropolitan University) in conversation with Susan Cahill (Heritage Project Manager, Irish in Britain), Róisín Jones (Heritage Project Assistant) and Rosa Gilbert (Heritage Researcher) about the Irish in Britain 50th Anniversary Oral History project.

We discuss what inspired the project, what challenges the Irish in Britain team faced, what they learnt and how these oral histories will continue to widen our understanding of the history of the Irish in Britain during the mid-20th century onwards.

The E&A Wates business archive was deposited at London Metropolitan University during 2021, comprising of company records, annual reports, advertisement and promotional material, personal papers of Peter Wates, family photographs and fabric samples. Discover more on our online catalogue.

The company derives its name from the initials of Wates' brothers: Edward and Arthur. Edward Wates founded the original company in 1900 and was joined by his brother Arthur in 1902. Edward was the oldest and Arthur second oldest of five boys amongst eleven children. The third and fourth boys were house builders: William and Herbert. They joined the company in 1904 and from that point onward the construction business started.The construction arm of the family business separated from the original company in 1925 (now Wates Group). Wates' family home was on 77 Mitcham Lane, just across the street from the premises of the E&A Wates shop that closed owing to the pandemic in March 2021. 

Online talk details:

Wednesday 6 March, 2024 (13:00-13:45)

Peter Fisher (Outreach and Historic Records Manager, London Metropolitan University) in conversation with Roger Wates (former Managing Director of E&A Wates)

We discuss how the business started, what role collecting samples and fabrics had in inspiring new product, and how the business archives will now support a new generation of furniture makers and designers, while also enriching student research and staff teaching at London Metropolitan University.

The Federation of Worker Writers and Community Publishers (FWWCP) existed from 1976-2007, comprised of over 60 local groups spread throughout the country. The material has been deposited by Nick Pollard, a lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University who had a long-running involvement in the Federation, and Joanna Bornat, Emeritus Professor at the Open University. The Federation was a voluntary, community-run organisation designed to allow ordinary, working class people to share and discuss their creative writing and facilitate community self-publication. The Federation often represented groups of writers on the periphery of society, including ethnic groups, lesbian and gay groups, and members with mental health issues.

The archive collection contains a large number of the Federation’s publications and magazines and will be of great interest to researchers studying adult education, creative writing, community history, social movements, working class culture, and oral history. Discover more on our online catalogue.

Online talk details:

Wednesday 17 April, 2024 (13:00-13:45)

Jeff Howarth (TUC Academic Liaison Librarian, London Metropolitan University) in conversation with Nick Pollard (Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, Sheffield Hallam University).

Nick was involved in the working-class creative writing movement that exploded across the UK between 1976 and 2007. He was editor of the Federation's magazine for 16 years, and also wrote and performed as part of various writing groups in London and Sheffield. In 2016 Nick donated his collection (including the Federation's archives) to the University. Jeff uses the collection in his work with staff and students in the University.

We discuss the origins, authors and writing groups involved in the Federation of Worker Writers and Community Publishers, how the collection was assembled and how it is now used to inspire future writers and visual graphic designers.