Listen to a small selection of clips from the collections being digitally preserved through the Unlocking Our Sound Heritage project. 

All of the sound recordings digitised in Scotland are available at the National Library of Scotland, with many made available online through the British Library sounds site from 2020.  Here is just a little sample of what we have been working on.

Wildlife Recordings

Fala Flow Geese (clip)

Quite a gang of geese! William Brotherston counting in geese arrivals at Fala Flow, Midlothian, 1966.

Recording held by Scottish Ornithologists Club UNLS009/8
Licenced under CC BY-NC

Fair Isle Puffin (clip)

Christopher Mylne records the unique sound of Puffins on Fair Isle, c.1978.

Spoken Word Recordings

Lectures By James Holms Dickson (6 clips)

Recorded lectures on Botany by James Holms Dickson lecturer at University of Glasgow in 1988/1989. He later became Professor of Archaeobotany and Plant Systematics.

Lecture 1: lava flows and plant succession

Lecture 1: industrial lime waste in Milngavie and xerosere (dry land) succession

Lecture 1: hydrosere at University’s field-station at Rowardennan

Lecture 2: hydrosere and a list of aquatic plants

Lecture 2: hydrosere and a list of floating leaved plants

Lecture 2: hydrosere and a list of helophytes (reed swamp species)

Oral History Interviews

Interview with Scott Marshall (clip)

Scott Marshall talks to Simon Taylor about the tenement conditions including story about someone falling through a tenement staircase. Recorded for the Leith Lives project in 1984.

Interview with Mr and Mrs Fairbairn (2 clips)

Mr and Mrs Fairbairn from Leith remember playing in the street and stealing food from the horses and entertaining themselves with games at home. Recorded for the Leith Lives project in 1984.

Mr and Mrs Fairbairn recall trips to the pictures before the ‘talkies’ when they were young. Recorded for the Leith Lives project in 1984.

Interview with James Milne (clip)

James Milne recalls going to see ‘war pictures’ and there being a man making sound effects with a sheet of tin. Recorded for the Leith Lives project in 1984.

Interview with Mrs Anderson (clip)

Mrs Anderson remembers being happy with what you had, all generations always feel hard done by! Recorded by Leith Lives project in 1984.

Interview with Isabella Porte (2 clips)

Isabella Porte sharing her thoughts on feminism, including ‘being a feminist before the word was invented’, with Neil Rafeek, 1994.

Isabella Porte explains to Neil Rafeek about ‘making a difference’ and her protest to free Nelson Mandela, 1996.

Interview with Effie O’Hare (clip)

Effie O’Hare talks with Neil Rafeek about meeting her inspiration, Helen Crawford, at the Glasgow Central Halls, 1994.

Interview with Kathryn Chalmers (clip)

Kathryn Chalmers sings some of the songs from the peace marches from Dunoon to Holy Loch, 1994

Interview with Bob (3 clips)

Bob talks about moving to Edinburgh to find the LGBTQ+ community. Recorded for the Remember When project in 2003.

Bob discusses LGBTQ+ visibility and fashion. Recorded for the Remember When project in 2003.

Bob discusses not wanting to be a spokesperson for the LGBTQ+ community and the risks around being a visible activist. Recorded for the Remember When project in 2003.

Interview with Gertude (2 clips)

Gertrude remembers attending her first lesbian and gay disco in Edinburgh. Recorded for Remember When project in 2004.

Gertrude talks about marching at pride with a Sappho’s club banner and being proud of the club. Recorded for the Remember When project in 2004.

Interview with Kate Charlesworth (clip)

Kate Charlesworth talks to Jodie Fleming about LGBTQ+ community activism in relation to Section 28. Recorded for the Remember When project in 2005.

Music & Song

The Bonnie Earl o’ Moray (clip)

A recording of Sydney MacEwan performing ‘The Bonnie Earl O’Moray’ from ‘Songs of the North’ with accompaniment by Duncan Morison, 1934.