The Keele Oral History Project

Fancy dress cycle ride d cc1956 "Oral history is a method of gathering and preserving historical information through recorded interviews with participants in past events and ways of life" (Oral History Association).

Oral history complements official documents and records by providing a personal view of historical moments. The Keele Oral History Project was instigated at the first Pioneers Reunion in May 2005.

The memories of former students are of value not just to themselves but also to posterity. Historians, sociologists, alumni, scholars and others will all benefit from the experiences they share for the project.

  • The Keele estate, the Sneyd family and Keele Hall - ideal for visitors or Keele people who enjoy history and heritage
  • The Origins of Keele University - ideal for visitors, staff and students who want to know why "Keele is Keele" and about the unique "Keele Experiment" which still informs our values and ethos
  • Keele Myths and Legends - ideal for staff and students who want to hear some of the more famous scandals, pranks, controversies and bizarre occurrences from Keele's Oral History

KEELE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

HISTORY, TRADITION & MYTHOLOGY

History and Traditions

Colours and Heraldry A Brief History
Keele's Dragon Mascot History through Building Names  Books about Keele
Swans, Swanmasters, Swanmistresses Graduation Ceremonial

Henders' KPA Oar
The Sneyd Family Photo Album Varsity and the Athletic Union Bell Keele: Postwar Pioneer Lecture by Professor Miles Taylor, 2017
 

 Books About Keele

  

 

 
















Incidents and Events

University Challenge Winners Levitating the Clock House! Keele's Declarations of Independence
The "Naked Incident"
on the Lawns		 Memorable Pranks The Leader of the Pack
Record Breakers! Squeezing in a
Phone Box		 Hollywood
Pop Festival  		 Spies for Peace?

The Comex II Tragedy 1967

  KUBE Radio and Thorns Radio A Romanov Love Story 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Places

Fresher's Gate Horwood's
Lost Dandelion		 The Clock with No Hands
Skiff Ahoy and the
New Union Building		 Keele Park Racecourse Railways at Keele
The Nelson Mandela Bar History through
Building Names		  Maps through the Decades
The Raven Mason Collection

Remembering
Hawthorns Hall

Hawthorns Farewell
Memories

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The SU, KPA and AU

Officers of Keele
Students' Union

Officers of the
Athletic Union

Student Elections:
Wit and Wisdom
RAG Days at Keele Officers of the Keele
Postgraduate Association
 The 1950s
Picture Loan Scheme

Our People and Our Stories

John Lennon
Interviewed		 Portrait of a Princess Raft Races on the Lake
Drama at Keele The South African
Scholarships		 Keele Kouples
The Soundtrack of our
(Keele) Lives 		Keele Klobber and the
Brain Bunnies 		Words that Mean
Keele to Me
Legendary
RAG Records		 Lindsay String Quartet Winter at Keele
Early Overseas Exchanges

Pioneering
International Keelites

National and Wartime Service
Keele Song Book 1952  Lord Lindsay and the
1938 By-Election		 The Keele Society 
Naming Names -
Class Photographs		 The Gig of my (Keele) Life Folk Music and Folk Dance Revolution
Hut Life Early Student Publications Interviews with Keelites
 Keele Buses Keele Siblings  Heritage Guides

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



AUDIO-VISUAL ACCOUNTS

First Decade: The Origins of Keele University 1950-1962

A Coming of Age: Continuity and Change 1962-1973

Did you enjoy this? Why not read more stories from the Keele Oral History Project?