‘People’s History of Leeds’ awarded National Lottery grant of more than £100,000 to Leeds Older People’s Forum

Leeds Older People’s Forum (LOPF) has been awarded a grant of £103,817 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to help save and secure the heritage of Leeds for the future.

The People’s History of Leeds (PHOL) will tell the story of the city through the voices of its citizens who have lived through it. The project will use the collection of Leeds Museums & Galleries as a conversation starter and will gather and share the stories of older and younger people in the city. 

Building on the success of Shine Magazine, which has been gathering older people’s stories since 2020, LOPF is now able to start a new heritage project. 

The PHOL uses new ways of working to identify, capture and share at-risk oral heritage with a more diverse audience – preserving these unique voices and life stories for future generations. 

The project will connect with older people from the diverse communities of Leeds to: 

• Preserve stories that capture and illustrate the rich tapestry of people’s lives
• Support older people to feel connected, be heard and feel part of something big 
• Enable older writers to develop their skills and help shape the project.

The project will be coordinated by Mojo Creative, where Tom Bailey and Rob Pritchard have the skills and creativity to bring the project to life, as they did with Shine Magazine in partnership with LOPF.

Mojo Creative will recruit and train a team of older citizens to collect stories and experiences from people in diverse Leeds communities. These older volunteer writers will also work with young volunteers from Leeds Museums. Together, they will adopt a ‘citizen journalist’ approach, seeking out and collecting previously untold tales within our communities and uncovering some of the remarkable voices of Leeds. 

The project will visit older people’s support groups, care homes, shopping centres, libraries and community settings across the city to showcase objects from Leeds Museums in order to inspire heritage conversations. These conversations will be captured and recorded to be shared widely amongst the people of Leeds. There will be a range of pop-up exhibitions of stories that will travel all over the city, from busy high streets to community events, where the public will be invited to contribute their own stories.

The project will culminate in the production of two free booklets of stories that will be distributed across the city to share the heritage stories with all sections of the Leeds community.

Linda Glew from Leeds Older People’s Forum said:

“We are thrilled to have received this support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, the voices of the people of Leeds will be captured in story form and shared across the city. It is a really exciting project!”

Quote from Ruth Steinburg, People’s History of Leeds Core Group and a citizen journalist:

“I am a writer and storyteller. This project will give me the possibility to do both. I was involved from the beginning of this very creative response to the Covid pandemic. I am passionate about how powerful stories can be and was sad that Shine Magazine came to an end. But, thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, out of the ashes has arisen a Phoenix (a great story) in the form of The People’s History of Leeds.  So now there is a new energy and creativity going into the creation of a book, “The People’s History of Leeds”, one edition to be published in 2025 and one the year after. These books will be full of chapters with stories of Leeds people that need to be told. The work has just started, but the ideas are flowing. Leeds is a rich and diverse city and there is a wealth of stories out there.  

“So whether it’s Reclaim the Night, such a powerful story that (unfortunately) is still relevant today, history in Punk in the city, the glory days of Leeds United, or many of the other parts of Leeds history. Those are just a few of the ideas that are fermenting. Thanks to Tom Bailey, who, as the editor, brings us ‘citizen journalists’  together, and in many ways, he makes this happen, to Mojo Films for the design of the book and website and to Leeds Older People’s Forum for leading the project. I’m also enjoying the bonus of being partnered with Leeds Museums with all their resources and expertise.

“The seeds are sown, shoots are sprouting, and the ground is fertile. It is so beautiful to be one of the ‘gardeners’ nurturing this new garden.  And to continue the metaphor, I’m looking forward to a good harvest with the publication of the books “The People’s History of Leeds.”

To get involved by becoming a citizen journalist or if you have a story to share, contact the project co-ordinator, Tom Bailey via email at tom@mojofilm.co.uk

Notes to editors 

Leeds Older People’s Forum (LOPF)

A network of third-sector organisations working with and for older people. LOPF wants to ensure older people have the opportunities, choices, and support they need to live the lives they want. LOPF is a registered charity.

opforum.org.uk

About The National Lottery Heritage Fund 

As the largest dedicated funder of the UK’s heritage, The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. 

Over the next ten years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to bring about benefits for people, places and the natural environment. 

We help protect, transform and share the things from the past that people care about, from popular museums and historic places, our natural environment and fragile species, to the languages and cultural traditions that celebrate who we are. 

We are passionate about heritage and committed to driving innovation and collaboration to make a positive difference to people’s lives today, while leaving a lasting legacy for future generations to enjoy.  

Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter/X, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLottery #HeritageFund  www.heritagefund.org.uk 

People’s History of Leeds is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to tell the story of the city through the voices of its citizens who have lived through it.

Further information

For further information, images and interviews, please contact:-

Hillary Wadsworth at Leeds Older People’s Forum at hillary@opforum.org.uk Tel 07584 113756

OR

Tom Bailey at Mojo Creative at tom@mojofilm.co.uk Tel 07807 036924