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Coming of Age
“The pursuit of truth in the company of friends” Lord A D Lindsay of Birker
Keele University was the first new United Kingdom University of the 20th cent
ury. It was established with degree giving powers in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire. The Royal Charter of the University of Keele followed in 1962. By 1969 Keele University was being described as, "the most original innovation in British university education in the 20th century".
Left: Union and Huts 1962 by Jocelyn Rider-Smith (1962)
Keele was founded to pursue a unique approach to interdisciplinary scholarship and as a campus community. The experiment came of age in the 1960s, a decade of radical change. In the early 1970s the keystone of the unique Keele experiment - the Foundation Year - ceased to be an obligatory part of the Keele undergraduate experience and the Keele began to explore new directions. The history of Keele "by alumni for alumni" begun in First Decade continues in Coming of Age : Continuity and Change
- The DVD “A Coming of Age” is an audio-visual account of Keele students’ experiences from 1962 to 1973, with contemporary photographs, film, music and narrative
- In the CD “In Our Own Words”, Brian Walker remembers the formative years 1962 to 1973 through interviews recorded with Keele alumni and members of staff between 2006 and 2012.
“A Coming of Age: Continuity and Change 1962-1973” captures the spirit of the age and the spirit of Keele. This project has demanded many hundreds of hours of time and exceptional expertise and insight. It has revealed your deep commitment and – yes, let’s say that word from the Sixties – love. On behalf of Keele University, the Keele Society, the Keele Oral History Project and, above all, your fellow Keele alumni – we thank the production Team." John Easom (Keele University, Alumni & Development Manager)
Production Team:
Presenter: Gerry Northam (1970)
Writer: Nici Hildebrandt (1975)
Interviewer: Brian Walker (1970)
Camera: Matt Bowling (2008)
Location Sound: Brian Walker (1970)
Editor: Matt Bowling (2008)
Historical Adviser: Bill Proctor (1968)
Assistant Producer: Pam Jones (1970)
Producer: Nici Hildebrandt (1975)
Executive Producer: John Easom (1981)
Right: Occupation of the Registry by Peter Houchin (1972)
We thank the many alumni volunteers who acted as advisers, especially: Malcolm Clarke (1969), Phil Davies (1971), Ilze Mason (Ulmanis) (1972) and Brian Stewart (1972). Many alumni and staff members have contributed interviews to the Keele Oral History Project. We thank the following, among others, whose interviews have been for this production: Shelagh Allsop (Twomey), Francis Beckett, Paul Brownsey, Malcolm Clarke, David Cohen. Peter Cropper Phil Davies, Nici Hildebrandt, Gurnos Jones, Alan Iliffe, Michael Mansfield, Angus McInnes, Audrey Newsome, Gerry Northam, Bill Proctor, George Pratt, Connie Robertson, Brian Stewart, Brian Turton, Liz Waters, David Whitebread, Linda Whitebread (Western), Martin Yarnit
Left: Students on the Grass by Jane Kingsbury (1968)
We also thank very many alumni and others who have contributed stories, photographs, amateur movies, ideas, memoirs, memorabilia, ephemera, publications and interviews for “A Coming of Age”.
Right: Nici Hildebrandt, John Easom, Bill Proctor, Brian walker, Phil Davies, Gerry Northam meet to plan the script outline January 2010
Did you enjoy this? Why not read more stories from the Keele Oral History Project?
