Author: Rebecca Penfold, Assistant Curator

We have continued to receive great responses from the questionnaire from LGBTQ+ REME personnel, and we are so grateful to be able to share and preserve your stories. Thank you for sharing your memories and stories so far. If you haven’t already, please read our previous blog REME History: Honouring REME’s LGBTQ+ Voices.

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The next part of the project is now in full swing. We are asking for people to record some oral histories with the museum who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community and have served/serve with REME. This is an informal process where we want to hear about your life stories, memories and how this may connect with your professional lives. Oral histories are the oldest method of collecting the past; you do not need to have made headlines to have a story that we would love to hear and collect for preservation in the museum.

This August, we’re scheduling recording sessions and would love your help. Whether by visiting the museum or from the comfort of your home, come and share your memories and stories with us. We are excited to be working with someone external to complete the recordings on behalf of the museum. We asked Helen to answer some of your questions.

Why do you want to be involved in the project?

There is a list of reasons! First, it is a privilege to mark the 25th anniversary of the lifting of the ban and work with the REME Museum team to help find and share current and past serving personnel’s stories of their service and belonging to the LGBTQ+ community during the last decades. We hope to cover service before and after the lifting of the ban and give new voices to those people who lived and served during this time. What I love about my job is how we can learn from the past to improve our lives today.

I have always been interested in engineering, it’s in my family. I led the education programmes at Brunel's SS Great Britain for five years.

What benefits are there to giving an oral history?

For some people, it is a chance to tell their story, their experience in their own words. I know when I talk to friends, it helps me cement thoughts on an experience or form ideas, just by talking. Some say it can be cathartic and even fun, but of course, the other end of it is remembering unhappy memories, and we cannot always plan for it, which is why an empathetic listener is important. We can stop the recording at any time. A key benefit is that you share your stories for other people to enjoy and learn from; it is not lost.

Can I respond to the questionnaire and record an oral history? 

Absolutely. Please do. We have one oral history booked already, but we are really keen to gather from a range of people. Our survey results are already looking really interesting, and I cannot wait to see them shared.

How do I get involved with a recording?

Give Rebecca or Richard at REME Museum a call on 01249 894869 or ideally email Rebecca at [email protected] over this summer. She will be able to send you an information sheet for you to look over. There are some simple forms to fill in, but don't let that put you off. We can always do the oral history over a call.

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Please get in contact with the museum to schedule making a recording by the above contacts throughout August 2025. Or get in contact to have a chat with us about the project and what oral histories entails. Please use the subject line REME’s LGBTQ+ Voices when getting in contact with us. We look forward to being able to preserve your stories in the collection. You may find it useful to take a look at these FAQs (pdf, 58KB) relating to the project and oral histories.

Banner image: London Pride 2022. © Crown, OGL.

This project is possible thanks to Museum Development South West, and support from Arts Council England through their Small Open Grants.