Collection SOHC 30 - Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group oral history project

Identity area

Reference code

GB 249 SOHC 30

Title

Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group oral history project

Date(s)

  • 2014 - 2015 (Creation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent and medium

50 digital files (7 MP3, 14 DOC, 14 JPG, 15 PDF)

Context area

Name of creator

Administrative history

The Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group is a registered charity which provides support to people with asbestos-related diseases and their families. In Britain, asbestos is typically associated with Britain's tradition of heavy industry, due to its widespread use in power stations, shipbuilding, factories, and dockyards, but asbestos was also used in the construction of a wide variety of building types, including shops and schools.

Name of creator

Biographical history

Nigel Ingham is a researcher with a particular interest in community oral history and the social history of learning disability.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Donated by the Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group to the Scottish Oral History Centre Archive at the University of Strathclyde in 2017.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Oral history project, conducted in 2014-2015 by Nigel Ingham of the Open University on behalf of the Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group, interviewing members of the Group.

There were 7 interviews in total and the collection comprises audio recordings, full transcripts, summaries and photographs for all interviews.

The interviewees comprise 5 women, widowed through mesothelioma (an asbestos-related disease), and 2 men who at the time were current sufferers. Of the 5 widows, 3 had been bereaved for up to 10 years, while two others lost their respective loved ones in the previous 12 months.

The interviews cover life story details, the social and economic context in which asbestos exposure occurred, the patient journey with mesothelioma, as well as the individual, emotional, family and social impact of the disease. Heavy industries such as textile mills, power stations are featured in the material, as well as shops, schools, and other 'lighter' contexts. The trades of those exposed to asbestos include electrical engineering, painting and decorating, joinery, shopfitting, bricklaying and tiling.

Geographically, the material predominantly covers Lancashire and Greater Manchester, but also references London.

Temporally, the material covers the decades following World War II up to approximately 2015.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Restricted. Please contact repository to request access.

Conditions governing reproduction

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

    Language and script notes

    Physical characteristics and technical requirements

    Finding aids

    Allied materials area

    Existence and location of originals

    Existence and location of copies

    Related units of description

    This collection is part of the Scottish Oral History Centre Archive.

    Notes area

    Alternative identifier(s)

    Access points

    Name access points

    Description identifier

    Institution identifier

    Language(s)

      Script(s)

        Sources

        Accession area