British Entertainment History Project

Founded in 1987 by Roy Fowler, the History Project started as an independent volunteer project by members of the industry trade union, ACTT, who wanted to preserve the stories and memories of the lives of the men and women who had been working in the various film and television industries. The organisation was originally called the ACTT History Project, reflecting the fact that though it was an entirely separate project run by volunteers, it was nevertheless supported by the ACTT union. In 1991, the ACTT merged with the Broadcasting and Entertainment Trades Alliance, to form BECTU (Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union){{Cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/838959/index.html|title=BFI Screenonline: Film Studios and Industry Bodies > ACT/ACTT/BECTU|website=www.screenonline.org.uk|language=en|access-date=2018-08-08}} and the ACTT History Project became known as the BECTU History Project. In 2016, it was officially registered as a company limited by guarantee, as an independent, non-profit, voluntary organisation, and renamed the British Entertainment History Project.

The unique and internationally recognized archive collection has grown to over 700 oral history interviews and over 4,000 hours of audio and video recordings{{Cite news|title=That's Entertainment! Preserving our Entertainment History From Both Sides of the Camera.|last=Threadgall|first=Derek|date=Spring 2017|work=Evergreen|issue=Spring|pages=88–90}}{{Cite journal|last1=Dawson & Sean P Holmes.2012 pp435-488; and The BECTU History Project: a postscript 32:3 pp449-451.|first1=Andrew|last2=Holmes|first2=Sean P|date=2012|title=The BECTU History Project: A postscript|journal=Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television|volume=32:3|issue=3 |pages=449–451|doi=10.1080/01439685.2012.699630 |s2cid=193237548 }} making it the largest independent oral history collection of its kind in the UK.

The recordings are used as a primary source by researchers and students, especially in the fields of media and social history. In addition, the archive is used by television and radio programmes, film documentaries, publishers, authors, historians, obituarists and journalists as well as the general public. Other partnerships and collaborations include work with the BFI, the BBC,{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/people-nation-empire/background-to-project|title=BBC - Background to the project - History of the BBC|website=www.bbc.co.uk|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-08-08|archive-date=2018-10-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013103429/https://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/people-nation-empire/background-to-project|url-status=dead}} the British Universities Film & Video Council{{Cite web|url=http://bufvc.ac.uk/newsonscreen/about/history|title=The History of News on Screen · British Universities Film & Video Council|website=bufvc.ac.uk|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-08-08}} and with universities such as the University of East Anglia.{{Cite web|url=https://www.uea.ac.uk/film-television-media/research/research-themes/british-film-and-tv-studies/british-cinema/oral-history-project|title=BECTU Oral History Project - UEA|website=www.uea.ac.uk|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-08-08}} In 2017, the BEHP began working with Sussex University and other partners as part of the '100 voices That Made The BBC', which is part of the Connected Histories of the BBC, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Copies of all interview recordings also form part of the National Film archive of the British Film Institute and a significant number were made available as part of BFI Screen Online.{{Cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/oralhistory.html|title=BFI Screenonline: Oral History|website=www.screenonline.org.uk|language=en|access-date=2018-08-08}}

The interviewees are drawn from professionals in the United Kingdom, but also include British professionals who worked abroad. Although the archive includes many well-known interviewees, the overall emphasis is on reflecting genuine breadth and variety, including those who may not be well known, but who, nevertheless have contributed to, or witnessed, important productions or have a unique story. Capturing their reminiscences provides information about the cultural history of Britain's broadcasting and entertainment,{{Cite journal|last1=Dawson|first1=Andrew|last2=Holmes|first2=Sean P|date=2012|title=Help to Preserve the Real Story of Our Cinema and Television Industries: The BECTU History Project and the Construction of British media History, 1986-2010|journal=Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television|volume=32:3|issue=3 |pages=435–488|doi=10.1080/01439685.2012.699650 |s2cid=191470461 }} whilst also shining a light on employment practices and the social history of particular periods. The aim is that future historians of the entertainment industry will have access to testimonies from participants in the film and television industries.{{Cite news|title=Recording Our Lives- Celebrating 30 Years of the History Project.|last1=Threadgall|first1=Derek|date=2017|work=The Veteran|last2=Dick|first2=Mike|issue=Spring|volume=154|pages=4–5}}

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• John Ammonds
• Derek Boshier
• Dallas Bower
• David Cobham
• Jill Craigie
• Charles Crichton
• John Dark
• Colin Dean
• Desmond Dickinson
• Clive Donner
• Edward Dryhurst
• John Elliot (author)
• David Elstein
• Bryan Forbes
• Freddie Francis
• Cyril Frankel
• Harold French
• James Gilbert (producer)
• Bob Godfrey
• Jack Gold
• Guy Green (filmmaker)
• John Halas
• Gordon Hales
• John Hough (director)
• Joan Kemp-Welch
• John Krish
• Bill Mason (director)
• Ernest Maxin
• Christopher Miles
• John Mills
• Ivor Montagu
• Christopher Morahan
• Diana Morgan (screenwriter)
• John Schlesinger
• Francis Searle
• Don Sharp
• Michael
  Smedley-Aston
• Jeremy Summers
• Diane Tammes
• Bernard Vorhaus
• Aida Young

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In 1999, the History Project was awarded a £3,500 grant from the [http://www.kraszna-krausz.org.uk/ Kraszna Krausz Foundation] to help towards the enormous task of transcribing hundreds of audio tapes.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bectu.org.uk/news/gen/ng0053.html|title=BECTU News - History Project grant|last=BECTU|website=www.bectu.org.uk|language=en|access-date=2018-08-08}}

In 2010, the History Project was honored with a Lifetime Contribution to Broadcasting Award at a ceremony at BAFTA.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bectu.org.uk/news/1050|title=Kaleidoscope honours History Project - BECTU|website=www.bectu.org.uk|language=en|access-date=2018-08-08}}

• The Interviews: An Oral History of Television

• [https://www.historyproject.org.uk British Entertainment History Project (BEHP)]
• [https://vimeo.com/thebehp BEHP Vimeo channel]
• [https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/10490000 BEHP at Companies House]
• [https://www.bectu.org.uk BECTU]
• [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/oralhistory.html BFI Screen Online Oral History]

Category:Entertainment industry

Category:Oral history