If you visited Bradford Industrial Museum earlier this year you might have spotted the display on Baird Television & Thorn Electricals that we had in our small cafe gallery there. The small, 2D exhibition we put on was with an eye to gauging the level of interest in the topic, to see whether or not visitors would want to see a larger exhibition.
Prior to this project, although I was aware of the company, I was not aware of quite how significant it was to those who worked or it’s legacy after the closure in the 1970s. When you mention ‘Bairds Television’ to people in Bradford, the response has often been either ‘Oh, I used to work there’ or that they knew someone who did.
The small display we put on was with an eye to gauging the level of interest in the subject.
I was lucky enough to be invited to join I worked at BAIRD TV Bradford facebook group, who were incredibly generous with their time, knowledge and memories their experiences working for the company using images from our own collections as well as those supplied by the employees.
I used a mix of of asking specific questions on topics, following ongoing discussions within the group and some focused discussions with individuals to tease out memories and information.
Most remembered their time with the company very fondly – as you can see from the word we generated from some of their responses to what they felt about their time there.
Although we don’t hold any physical objects linked to Bairds within our collections, what proved particularly successful on both sides was being able to share a number of images we hold within our Photo Archive that were noted as being related to the company.
CH Wood had taken photographs of various buildings, set ups and people, but the accompanying records were decidedly sparse – which is not terribly useful when you’re trying to use the images to explain the stories of the company to others!
However, by sharing the images with the group, I was able to provoke discussions and reminescences for the members – and tease out a lot of useful information that I could feed back into our Collections Database!
Like this picture
The conversations revealed that this particular image was the final point in the process – where televisions were tested to make sure they were working, and catch any faulty ones, then boxed up and sent off to be sold by retails.
Likewise, this one of women working on a production line went from an unknown location, to a specific location and task identified, and even a rough date, based on the (lack) of colour coded overcoats!
Working together I was able to put together a time of key events, illustrated with images from our own collections – but also those provided by the group.
I also was able to learn more about the active social side of the company – on the sporty side, that included a cycling club that the company sponsored and ‘Its A Knockout’ style tournaments they took in against other Bradford-based companies (I’m lead to believe they were particularly competitive against Grattans!). There were also trips arranged away to places like Morecambe, Blackpool, Edinburgh and Glasgow, and a regular Christmas Party. Even those who didn’t generally take part in the organised activities described the company as having a very friendly work force!
Other discussions with ex-employees , revealed what happen after the closure of the Bradford sites – with ex-employees going onto found companies such as PACE Micro – responsible for innovations in digital communications – and the ubiquitous set-top boxes!
We had a lovely launch earlier this year, with members of the group bringing along their memories- and some objects they had to prompt discussions., and it was interesting to hear the stories our display prompted both from that group, and later in the year from other visitors who remembered the company, or had worked there themselves.
Working with communities and group in this way is really rewarding on both sides – I was able to share the resources and images we hold, that many had not seen before, and was also able to use the information we gathered to enhance what we know – so that in the future we can tell the stories of the people of Bradford more easily and effectively.
Which lead me onto the last part of this blog. This particular exhibition was a small one, in our ‘Cafe Gallery’ here at the Bradford Industrial Museum , but the interest in the subject makes us think that it could be a candidate for a larger exhibition in the main display space in a couple of years.
However, although we have some good photography, and we now have some more information on it. – which will also be complemented by a project run by the National Science and Media Museum to collect oral histories from Baird workers. – what we currently have is a lack of 3d objects with which to illustrate the stories.
If those of you reading this have links to the company and/or it’s workers, have stories to share or objects to lend that might help us to illustrate the history of this fascinating company – and more importantly it’s wonderful work-force we’d love to hear from you, to gauge whether our hope could become a reality!
