Yorkshire Coast residents are being asked to share their memories of the COVID-19 lockdown period in a new COVID-19 collection, which will be preserved for the benefit of future generations.
The East Riding Archives team are looking for items like photographs of people's daily lives; pictures of empty streets; pictures and recordings of the 'Clap for Carers' on Thursday evenings, or other thanks for NHS and key workers; or even diaries with notes about what people have been doing during lockdown.
Archivist Hannah Stamp said:
"As well as photos and pictures, if anyone has written any poetry or stories relating to their lockdown experiences, these would be ideal, too. We are also keen to receive video logs, audio recordings and digital photos.
"How did you cope with being in lockdown? How has your local area and community changed? We would like to hear from all members of our local East Riding community to create a full picture of how people are now living and working."
Councillor Shaun Horton, portfolio holder for coastal regeneration and tourism, including culture and leisure, explained:
"In common with other archives in other places, we are keen to create this collection as part of our responsibility to record the lives of everyday people in the community. I'm hoping it will be a very useful resource in the future. We know these are still very difficult times for many people, but we should record this unique period in our social and economic history for future generations to learn from."
The records for the collection can be in a written, printed or digital format.
East Riding Archives have now reopened for accepting contributions into the archives and are operating on an appointments only basis. For any queries or to book an appointment with an Archivist, please contact the Archives Team at archives.service@eastriding.gov.uk and find out more at: https://eastridingarchives.blog/2020/08/19/your-east-riding-covid-19-experiences/