Title:
Communicating Connections
Level: Category
Sound Archive
Level: Fonds
ESSEX RECORD OFFICE
Level: Series
Communicating Connections
Scope and Content:
31 oral histories recorded with people connected to the Marconi company.
Dates of Creation:
2020 - 2022
Extent:
31 interviews
Admin History:
'Communicating Connections: Sharing the Heritage of Marconi’s Wireless World' was an oral history project by Essex Record Office, exploring the history and heritage of the Marconi Company and its legacy in Chelmsford and Essex more broadly.

The Marconi Company was started by Italian inventor Mr Guglielmo Marconi and opened its first factory in Hall Street, Chelmsford, in 1898. It was a world leader in wireless technology, with Marconi equipment being used on ships, notably the Titanic, and in the first live entertainment broadcast by Dame Nellie Melba, live from Chelmsford in 1920.

Communicating Connections ran from August 2020 until June 2022 and recorded 31 oral histories with people connected to the Marconi Company. The project also trained 12 volunteers in oral history interviewing, exhibition writing, and podcasting.

In addition to these new stories, over 35 hours of material from the Essex Sound and Video Archive was digitised as part of the project. The Essex Record Office also digitised over 50,000 photographs from the Marconi Photographic Unit, which were held at the New Street Site until its closure and redevelopment in the early 2000s.

More information can be found on the project website: www.marconi-heritage.org
Copyright:
See individual interviews.
Physical Characteristics:
Oral histories: 44 WAV files and MP3 access copies
Transcripts: 31 Word documents