Voices

Project Funding: Anniversary Fund of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Project No. 18157), Beit Trust (UK)
Project Duration: 2016–2021
Project Lead: Valentin Seidler (LBIDH and Vienna University of Economics and Business)
Project Team (Archive): Edurne Kugeler-Gomez (University of Vienna)
Project Team (Interviews): Clara Easthill (University of Vienna), Stephanie Hahn (University of Vienna), Julia Heyer (University of Vienna), Edurne Kugeler-Gomez (University of Vienna), Miriam Plangger (University of Vienna), Victoria Thoma (University of Vienna)
Project Support: Veronika Hämmerle (Vienna University of Economics and Business)
Project Partners: Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Digital History (LBIDH); previously (until June 2017) Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Historical Social Sciences (LBIHS)

After World War II, more than 20,000 officials held leading positions in 52 British colonies and territories. In the 1950s, women and local employees from the colonies also began to occupy these key positions. In the 1960s, these officials were responsible for implementing institutional reforms to prepare the respective colonies for independence. Their role in the decolonization process is at the center of research interest.

The Voices project collects biographical material of these former British colonial officials. The archive includes 108 oral history interviews, several hours of amateur film footage, and other biographical documents (text material, photos). Extensive holdings of the former Overseas Service Pensioners’ Association were transferred to the University Library of Vienna. The collection provides insights into the lives and work of key figures in decolonization, navigating the tensions between their socialization, political developments, and personal future plans.

The creation of the collection was supported, among other things, by funding from the FWF Austrian Science Fund (Project 3848G28), which enabled research stays in Great Britain. The scientific evaluation of the collection has been supported by the Anniversary Fund of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank since August 2019. The Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Digital History (LBIDH) provides expertise in digital cataloging, facilities, and infrastructure.