There was an excellent programme broadcast on Radio 4 on Saturday 1 Sept 2007 about the work of Marie Slocombe in saving and preserving many historic sound recordings. The broadcast can be heard again through the BBC's 'Listen Again' facility by clicking on the audio button here:- Saving the Sounds of History.
There is some more background information in the BBC online Magazine in an article by Sean Street who presented the programme.
One of the jewels in the crown of the BBC archives is the substantial collection of folk songs and music built up largely in the 1950's. A fraction of this collection was broadcast in the radio programme 'As I Roved Out' between 1953 and 1958, and a few items from the collection have been released on records. However the collection remains generally unknown which is a scandalous fate for a fabulously rich resource. There are contributions of songs, tunes, stories and folklore from all over Great Britain and Ireland which are part of our heritage today.
Marie Slocombe wrote about the collection in an article for the journal 'Folklore and Folk Music Archivist' in 1964 and the article can be viewed or downloaded in PDF from the Indiana University Archives of Traditional Music.
The collection is now stored at British Library Sound Archive where it is available for listening - but you have to know what you are looking for! This is a clear example where resources ought to be online so that we can all share this wealth which surely belongs to us all in the first place.
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