Contribute to Local History With The COVID-19 Memories Archive

East Riding Archives is asking residents to contribute their recorded experiences of the COVID-19 period into a growing collection of memories, which will be preserved for the benefit of future generations.

The archives team are looking for digital, written and printed items such as diaries detailing life under COVID-19 restrictions; photographs of people’s daily lives; poems and stories; and any recordings of thanks for NHS and key workers.

Archivist Hannah Stamp said:

“We are currently welcoming digital items such as video clips, photographs and sound recordings, as this is a COVID-safe way of adding your experiences into our collections during the present lockdown period when we are closed to the public. Please keep any written or printed items safe for when the archives service reopens, as we would also like to preserve these as part of our collections.

“How are you coping with being in lockdown? How has your local area and community changed? What does your day look like? We would like to hear from all members of our local East Riding community to create a full picture of how people are now living and working.”

Councillor Shaun Horton, portfolio holder for tourism, leisure and culture, explained: “In common with other archives in other places, we are keen to create this collection as part of our responsibility to record the lives of everyday people in the community. I’m hoping it will be a very useful resource in the future. We know these are very difficult times for many people, but we should record this unique period in our social and economic history for future generations to learn from.”

To contribute your COVID-19 memories to the archive, please email your digital contributions to archives.service@eastriding.gov.uk and keep written and printed items safe to deposit when the service reopens.

Due to the current government restrictions, East Riding Archives are currently closed to visitors. Find out more about service updates and the COVID-19 collection appeal at: www.eastridingarchives.co.uk