Explore Your Archive Campaign

We’ve spoken before on this blog about how vital our records are to many different communities in the local area. This week sees archives across Manchester, and the rest of the UK, come together to raise awareness of their collections and their value to society. 

Our collection, as this blog reveals, is full to the brim with stories of local people and local activities. These are recorded on ledgers, letters, reports and books. They are told through oral histories, photographs and films and are displayed through social media, talks and visits to see original material.

For the individual it provides personal information about themselves or their relatives. For local communities it gives a voice to their past. To the local historian it is a rich source of information on Manchester and how the area has changed. To the charity it's an understanding of its roots, how decisions have been made and how these effect the organisation today. Without it mistakes can be repeated and people are kept in the dark about their past.

Group of boys with Leonard Shaw

So today to celebrate Explore your Archives, we tell another story about the children from our archive and open up our collection still further to the local community and beyond.

‘One evening a little chap about ten years of age sought admission [to the Central Refuge]. He sat on a form in the waiting room with a little dog cuddled up to him. It was evident that there was a closer union than the bodily proximity between these two. He came into the room for the interview bringing the dog with him, and in reply to a question said the dog belonged to him. There was no question about helping the child at least for the night, for he was in a poor starved condition. It was arranged therefore that he should be admitted, and it was suggested that he should let the dog go as the Home was only for children. From his point of view this was an impossible condition, and he stoutly declared he could not stay without the dog, and he was preparing to go out again into the street. Of course they were both admitted to the satisfaction of each.’

Check out what other archives are doing as part of the campaign for the National Archives.