Mary Stewart, Lead Curator of Oral History, writes: The key mission of the British Library Oral History team is to gather as many stories about life in the UK as possible – to create a tapestry of experiences, reflections and insights for use by researchers today and in the future….

A key figure of British jazz, Coleridge Goode worked with the likes of Stéphane Grappelli, Django Reinhardt and Ray Ellington. He performed frequently and his double bass playing graced countless London jazz clubs. He kept diaries in which he noted his bookings, at venues like the Marquee and Ronnie Scott’s…

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor quoted in Norwood News (7 Sept. 1912). Samuel Coleridge-Taylor © Alamy Interview with Dr Catherine Carr, conducted by Fiona Stubbings Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was one of the most eminent composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was born in 1875, with mixed Sierra Leonean and English…

PART 2 Part 2 of a guest blog by Andrew O. Krastins. Part 1 can be found here. We continue our exploration of the British Library’s Mystery Cylinders. And, the author can attest, mysterious they indeed are – equal parts Rubik’s Cube, Voynich manuscript and chest of drawers seen in…

Join us for the Oral History Festival on Saturday 6 July 2024 in the British Library Knowledge Centre