I started volunteering by chance when I responded to an article in the local paper about the Women’s Transport History Project.
Having retired from my job as HR manager at Coventry University, I was looking for an opportunity to continue to use the skills I had developed as well as learn new ones.
My initial role was researching the business archives of motor manufacturing companies in the city. This was my first experience of historical research – going through archive files of photos and documents dating back to the early 1900s was fascinating.
I also reviewed the Herbert’s oral history collection to identify more accounts of women working in the motor industry.
I was then responsible for producing the guide to the project, which involved selecting content from the findings and writing a narrative to pull it all together.
Later, I was offered the opportunity to help produce a book intended for older people who have difficulties with concentration or memory. I decided on the story the book would tell and selected suitable images and quotes. The resulting 64-page book has just been published in hardback, titled Clocking On: A Collection of Memories.
I am now working on a new tour for Coventry Transport Museum on the role of women as motorists, car designers and rally drivers.
Interview by John Holt
Having retired from my job as HR manager at Coventry University, I was looking for an opportunity to continue to use the skills I had developed as well as learn new ones.
My initial role was researching the business archives of motor manufacturing companies in the city. This was my first experience of historical research – going through archive files of photos and documents dating back to the early 1900s was fascinating.
I also reviewed the Herbert’s oral history collection to identify more accounts of women working in the motor industry.
I was then responsible for producing the guide to the project, which involved selecting content from the findings and writing a narrative to pull it all together.
Later, I was offered the opportunity to help produce a book intended for older people who have difficulties with concentration or memory. I decided on the story the book would tell and selected suitable images and quotes. The resulting 64-page book has just been published in hardback, titled Clocking On: A Collection of Memories.
I am now working on a new tour for Coventry Transport Museum on the role of women as motorists, car designers and rally drivers.
Interview by John Holt
