StoryVault, which launches soon, is an online video library that allows people to upload – and preserve for future generations – their own remarkable stories and memories of friends and families. The site is aiming to become an invaluable resource for students of history all around the world.
The site has launched with over 250 diverse stories already saved for posterity. Celebrity followers include historian Dan Snow, comedian and Oxford History graduate Al Murray and clinical psychologist Professor Tanya Byron.
StoryVault encourages users to interview a friend or family member, usually on video, and to upload the content to the site. Content can either be marked as “private” so it’s accessible only for chosen friends or family, or it can be made available publicly.
StoryVault also gives users the opportunity to store their memories as part of a family-tree. For instance, clicking on the name or picture of “Grandma” will immediately take the user to a set of all the clips of interviews she has given. This can then be shared on a personalised family tree with other family members, so they can add their own content – effectively capturing all the family’s important memories in one place. The structure of StoryVault’s family tree can also be used as an organiser for other groups of people such as clubs, society-members or companies.
Examples of some of the content on the site at the moment, includes:
- Former boss of Phonogram Records Tony Powell telling how his world was turned upside down when Bob Geldof came into his office one day and said “we’re going to make a charity record…..”
- In 1966 Derek Cattani was working as an FA photographer and had already spent a lot of time taking photos of the England World Cup Squad training in the run-up to the finals tournament. He recalls hanging out with the team in training and early matches and playing tennis with Geoff Hurst
- Henry William Allingham was born 6 June 1896 and was, at the age of 113 when he gave this interview, the oldest verified living man in the world. Allingham is the oldest ever surviving member of any of the British Armed Forces and the oldest surviving veteran of the First World War. He is the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland of 1916. Here he describes (as best he can!) his remaining memories of the Battle of Jutland (now deceased)
- Roger Fuller was a 30 year old constable with the Metropolitan Police at the time of the riots. In this interview he talks about events of April 1981 – the Brixton Riots and how the police tried to handle the situation.
How could you use this new resource in the classroom?
