Rachel MacGregor
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anoldhand.bsky.social
Rachel MacGregor
@anoldhand.bsky.social
1.8K followers 600 following 1K posts
Digital Preservation Officer at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick. Interested in digital preservation, archives and public engagement. Also random public transport content. Views my own unless a repost. She/her.
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anoldhand.bsky.social
I sourced a Christmas tree for the office today and I count that as a highly successful day at work 🎄🎄🎄
November 28, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
mrcwarwick.bsky.social
The late 1950s through children's imagination - pop culture, aspirations, tea and sudden death

The 'Lollard Children's Magazine', linked with the Lollard Street adventure playground, gave Lambeth kids a space to express themselves on the page #HistChild

mrc-describe.epexio.com/records/LAH/...
Page from 'Lollard Adventure Magazine', written by Lambeth children in the 1950s. It includes a drawing of a 'Teddy Boy' with accompanying text: "This is a real Teddy boy. There are lots of Teddy boys in Lambeth. I think they look smart. They have all sorts of styles in their hair. They are all stuck up, but quite stupid in their ways. I am never going to be a Teddy boy. David Jones." "Once a Teddy boy and a Teddy girl were walking along the road when they met each other and they said to each other, "Where are you going?" and they said, "I'm not going anywhere". Then the Teddy boy said, "Come to a dance at the Royal Log hotel". When they were there, they said, "Will you marry me?" So the next week they got married and they weren't a Teddy boy and Teddy girl any more because they liked to live ordanairy." "THE TEDDY BOY. Once there was a Teddy boy and he was a little shrimp but he could fight very good. He used to go and show off. One day he broke into a bank and took a thousand pounds. He was chased and caught and on the way he killed a man and he was caught and got hung. Leslie Presley." Page from 'Lollard Adventure Magazine', written by Lambeth children in the 1950s. It includes a drawing of five children doing the 'Six five hand jive' and text: "Rock 'n Roll. I'm crazy about Pat Boone, He just sends me like a balloon. Maureen Sullivan." "When I grow up I want to be a typist and type fast at the typewriter. I go to Walnut Tree Walk School. I want to get ten guineas from work and work over London somewhere. When I've got all that money I will spend it on clothes then take a holiday. Then I will spend the other that I have left. I will spend it for food and things. Carole Brookman." Page from 'Lollard Adventure Magazine', written by Lambeth children in the 1950s. It includes a drawing of the head of a 'Teddy Boy' with accompanying text: "The Teddy Boy. I saw a 'Teddy Boy' last night. His great big razor gave me a nasty fright. His turned-up velvet collar And his jutting out cigar Made him look like a villain His drain-pipe trousers And his awkward looking shoes Made me hurry away - Hurry, before he did chase me If he did choose. A. Pritchard." "My Birthday. My birthday was on Sunday And I am ten years old I have got six birthday cards And four birthday presents. A bucket bag, A tin of toffees, Seven and six, And a box of handerchiefs. But I did not have a party I could not have a party For my baby sister's illl. Anne Sweeny." "Rain Rain! Rain! Rain! Fall upon the house tops Fall upon the green grass Hang like beads On the flat leaves But don't rain on me please! Maureen Sullivan" Page from 'Lollard Adventure Magazine', written by Lambeth children in the 1950s. It includes a drawing of a country cottage in a field, with smoke coming out of the chimney, and accompanying text: "Trip to the country I went to Sevenoaks on Sunday to see some lady and I came home at 7 o'clock and I went at 3 o'clock and it was a nice day down there and I had tea with Mrs. Rook. Billy Long." "The Red Spotted Car One fine Spring day, a car drew into our village of Townsend. It was a bright yellow car with red spots on - quite an unusual car. It stopped outside our house and out stepped a queer looking little man. He got up onto the top of his car and started ringing a bell. Everyone came running out of their houses to see what was happening. When everyone was quiet, the little man began to speak. He said, "I wish to marry our Queen Caroline. If she refuses to marry me I will bring disaster to your town and everyone will be killed." Then he got down and back into his car and drove away."
November 28, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
ihrhistorylab.bsky.social
🌟 Exciting news! The deadline for the Olivette Otele Prize has been extended to Friday 12th December! Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity for a fast-tracked publication, apply now! 📝
Olivette Otele Prize 2025/26 Open for Submissions! DEADLINE EXTENSION! We have extended the call for abstracts to Friday 12th December 2025 for our annual Olivette Otele Prize! The prize offers the chance for fast-tracked publication of an article and a cash prize of £250 and is open to Black UK-based PhD students working in history or related disciplines, exploring any place or period. We invite you to submit an abstract of no more than 400 words for a 40 minute paper by Friday 12th December 2025 to ihrhistorylab@gmail.com. Timeline: Abstract deadline of no more than 400 words due by Friday 12th DECEMBER 2025 Shortlisted scholars will be notified by Friday 19th December 2025 and asked to submit a full paper of no more than 8000 words by Friday 27th February The winner will be announced by the end of March 2026 Prize and Recognition The winner will receive a £250 cash prize, will be invited to speak at History Lab’s annual conference in summer 2026, and to submit their paper to Historical Research, the leading generalist historical journal and flagship publication of the Institute of Historical Research. Shortlisted scholars will receive a £30 book voucher and the opportunity to present their research at a History Lab seminar. About the Prize The Olivette Otele Prize was created in 2020 in response to the Royal Historical Society’s ‘Race, Ethnicity and Equality Report’ which highlighted racial inequality in the field of history. The prize was named after the UK’s first Black woman history professor and was designed to both raise participants’ profiles as well as financially reward labour involved in academic research. We look forward to reading your applications!
November 27, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
womenintranslation.bsky.social
We are delighted to announce that the winner of the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation 2025 is ‘And the Walls Became the World All Around’ by Johanna Ekström and Sigrid Rausing, translated from Swedish (Sweden) by Sigrid Rausing and published by @grantabooks.bsky.social !
The book, And the Walls Became the World All Around, is stood upright on a table against a blank background. The cover is facing the camera.
November 27, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
socialhistsoc.bsky.social
🚨 Call for Papers! 🚨

📣Join us @lancasteruni.bsky.social 1-3 July 2026 as we return to our original home to celebrate our 50th anniversary!

We welcome proposals from historians at all career stages across 8 thematic strands.

📅 CfP deadline: 16/01/26
🔗 socialhistory.org.uk/events/confe...

#CFP 🗃️
SHS Annual Conference 2026
Our 50th anniversary conference will be held at Lancaster University, the academic home of the Social History Society. A Significant Milestone The Social History Society was founded at Lancaster Un…
socialhistory.org.uk
November 27, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
drolibetts.bsky.social
Would anyone be interested in being part of a roundtable on Working-Class Victorians in heritage/fiction/public imagination today at next year's BAVS conference?

Let me know if you're keen 😁
November 27, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
mediumaevum.bsky.social
Five days remain to submit your presentation proposal for the Medieval Wales conference taking place at Prifysgol Caerdydd/ Cardiff University, 25th-26th April 2026.

Read the full CFP in both Welsh and English at mediumaevum.org.uk/events/medie...
November 25, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
worsted.bsky.social
Useful archival cataloguing term found
Extract from typed document with title 'Main Comments on Bungle of Documents' It continues by listing the contents of the Bungle.
November 25, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
hagenilda.bsky.social
Does anyone have access to an e-book/PDF of Thom Hartmann: 'The Edison Gene: ADHD and the gift of the hunter child'?
November 25, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
mrcwarwick.bsky.social
We're proud to be a member of the #GeneralStrike100 national partnership

Explore our interactive map & sign up to visit your nearest partner & #GeneralStrike100 history sites at actionnetwork.org/forms/visit-...

Looking forward to sharing our collections through onsite events & digitised sources!
Image including a photograph of a public meeting in 1926, showing speakers and crowd. Two logos are visible - the logo for the General Strike 100 national partnership and the Modern Records Centre's own logo.
November 24, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
ciliplgbtq.bsky.social
Perhaps of interest to #archive folks:

Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging (EDIB) Self-Assessment Toolkit (SAT) workshop. The EDIB SAT will be embedded as part of the Archive Service Accreditation assessment from Spring 2026:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/equality-d...

#EDI
#DEI
Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Self-Assessment Toolkit
This workshop introduces the EDIB Self-Assessment Toolkit, developed by Archives West Midland.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 6:40 AM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
gillianmurphy.bsky.social
We're planning an exhibition to mark the centenary of The Women's Library next year. We'd like to feature collections and research that people are working on currently. Please get in touch and let us know.
September 18, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
miaout.bsky.social
Online tickets are now available for the Fantastic Futures 2025 conference! #FF2025 is the annual conference of the AI4LAM community, jam-packed with inspiration and practical lessons for AI in GLAMs. Sign up to watch all talks on Thurs and Fri Dec 4 - 5 for free! www.conftool.org/fantastic-fu...
Fantastic Futures 2025 - ConfTool Pro - Login
www.conftool.org
November 24, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
oldenoughtosay.com
UK immigration consultation. Designed terribly and probably intentionally to make it difficult to disagree, but worth doing if you do.
November 22, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
rbrett.bsky.social
After you help your boss convert a doc to PDF
November 22, 2025 at 4:55 PM
anoldhand.bsky.social
Had a most wonderful day @uni-of-warwick.bsky.social celebrating 60 years with assorted alumnae. Met some amazing people including a cohort from the Class of ‘65 including one of them who booked Rod Stewart’s then relatively unknown band for one of the opening events #Warwick60
A group of men and women in an archives searchroom looking at documents
November 22, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
pastpostcard.bsky.social
Had a rather mixed experience yesterday with local history some of which Beryl and myself do not intend to repeat.
November 22, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
mrcwarwick.bsky.social
Call for papers #CFP

Blood is the Price of Coal: Coal Communities, Health and Welfare in Britain and Beyond from the 19th Century to the Present

18 June 2026: 1 day conference + NUM archive exhibition

Submit abstracts / express interest at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...

Deadline: 25 Jan 2026
Blood is the Price of Coal: Coal Communities, Health and Welfare in Britain and Beyond from the 19th Century to the Present When and where: University of Warwick, Coventry, on Thursday 18 June 2026. Conference summary: This free one day conference aims to bring together researchers from higher education, community and campaign groups to explore the history of health and welfare in Britain’s coal mining industry. Held jointly by the University of Warwick's Centre for the History of Medicine, Science and Technology, and Modern Records Centre, the event will run alongside an exhibition which will explore some of the themes covered by the speakers through the National Union of Mineworkers' archives. We welcome contributions from new and established researchers, working inside and outside higher education. Confirmed participants include: - Jörg Arnold (University of Augsburg / Institute for Contemporary History Munich - Berlin), author of The British Miner in the Age of DeIndustrialization - Keith Gildart (University of Wolverhampton), Principal Investigator on research project On Behalf of the People: Work, Community and Class in the British Coal Industry 1947-1994 and former miner - Quentin Outram (University of Leeds), Secretary of the Society for the Study of Labour History and co-editor of Coal in Victorian Britain Conference themes: Subjects that could be addressed include but are not limited to: The human cost of coal, including: - Mining disasters, their contemporary impacts and later memorialisation. - Industrial accidents, industrial diseases and workers’ compensation. - Mine safety and the improvement of conditions. - Mining and mental health. Industrial health and welfare, including: - Pre-nationalisation provision in and beyond the colliery. - National Coal Board provision, including the NCB Medical Service, housing and the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation. - Trade union campaigns and benefit schemes. - Sport and social provision as mining welfare. Coal and community, including: - Environmental impact. - Mining families and the intergenerational effects of the mining industry. - Impacts of the industry with particular reference to gender, race and ethnicity. - Coalfield communities after coal: the effects of deindustrialisation. Submission guidelines We wish to make space for dialogue between academic and community-based researchers, and welcome involvement from mining heritage and local history groups / researchers from former coalfield communities. We welcome and encourage alternative presentational styles. Possible formats for contributions could include: - 15-20 minute papers. - 5 minute lightning papers (for example showcasing a particular object or archival source, or highlighting a particular place, event, individual or experience). - Round table discussions. - Posters or displays. Submission deadline: 25 January 2026. Limited funding for travel support will be available, with priority given to early career researchers or participants who cannot draw upon institutional funding. For additional enquiries, please contact the conference organisers at archives@warwick.ac.uk
November 20, 2025 at 11:53 AM
anoldhand.bsky.social
Litter picking at lunchtime on my #UnconfinedWalks It was fun - must do this more often!
November 19, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
mrcwarwick.bsky.social
"How to keep well in wartime"

'Get enough sleep'

Some useful and not so useful tips issued for the Ministry of Health by the Ministry of Information, published in 1943.

This publication, about the Home Front, can be found in The Brewers' Society archive.

mrc-describe.epexio.com/records/BLR/...
Front cover of 'How to keep well in Wartime'. The publication was issued for the Ministry of Health by the Ministry of Information. The cover shows an illustration of a family. The man appears to be carrying a soldier's helmet, the woman is carrying a basket of food, the young girl is on a bicycle, and the young boy is carrying what looks like a picnic blanket. Contents page of 'How to keep well in Wartime'. Chapter headings 1. Be regular in your living habits. 2. Get enough sleep. 3. Get your share of air and sunshine. 4. Keep your mind and body active. 5. Choose the right food. 6. Be moderate in all things. 7. A word to those who worry. 8. Fight disease with hygiene. 9. Stop germs from spreading. 10. Help yourself to be well.
November 18, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
girlinthe.bsky.social
Do I know anyone at the Royal Society of Medicine library? (Which is to say, I think I met someone at an event recently and can't remember where. Was it you?)
November 17, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
masudk.com
Today, we are celebrating the archive of the wonderful Peepal Tree Press, an archive that we are so blessed to have at @leedsunilibraries.bsky.social and @lulgalleries.bsky.social
An image celebrating the archive and forty years of Peepal Tree Press
November 13, 2025 at 5:52 PM
anoldhand.bsky.social
On the train to Warrington. My first companions were cheerily drinking M&S cocktails and off to see the Fast Show live in Brum. They are replaced by someone from [redacted name of law firm] who is merrily sharing his client details with me via his lap top.
November 13, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
riacheyne.bsky.social
Still time to register for this free online event next week! With fantastic contributions from @nlisn.bsky.social @ukdishisthub.bsky.social @neurodiversemuseum.bsky.social @owenbarden.bsky.social @louisebell.bsky.social @sambrady.bsky.social and many more!
riacheyne.bsky.social Ria Cheyne @riacheyne.bsky.social · Oct 30
As we come to the end of our @edicaucus.bsky.social funded 'Divergent Minds in the Archive' project, we're delighted to invite you to 'Accessing Archives and Collections: Disability, Neurodivergence, Chronic Illness' - a free online symposium on 17th and 18th November. 1/n
Microsoft Forms
forms.office.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Reposted by Rachel MacGregor
suzpaul.bsky.social
Why is the British Library of all places publicizing an event about ‘forgotten’ or ‘lost’ maps ’found’ in the ‘dusty drawers’ OF A LIBRARY. Not catalogued perhaps but not lost… argh! events.bl.uk/events/hidde...
Hidden in Plain Sight: The Secret Maps of a Forgotten Map Library | British Library
Professor James Cheshire spent three years sifting through the dusty drawers of the University College London Map Library to research his book The Library
events.bl.uk
November 10, 2025 at 3:25 PM