BBC Sound Archive
The BBC Sound Archive is one of the largest collections of audio recordings in the world. It was started in 1936 by Marie Slocombe, who saved important old recordings at the BBC that others planned to throw away.[1]
| BBC Sound Archive | |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1936 |
| Type | Sound archive |
| Headquarters | Perivale, London, United Kingdom |
| Location | United Kingdom |
| Website | sound-effects |
History
The collection began when Marie Slocombe kept recordings of political speeches, radio shows, and music. In the early years, it included rare speeches by leaders like Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler.[2]
Today
The archive now holds more than 350,000 hours of sound. It is stored at a special site in Perivale with climate control to protect the recordings. A small part of it is available to the public through the BBC Sound Effects Archive.[3] Many of these sound effects are free to use for personal or educational projects.
Digitization
To protect the recordings, the BBC is working with companies like Memnon to digitize the old material. This helps save the sounds for the future.[4]
Related pages
- British Library Sound Archive
- BBC Archives
References
- ↑ Fees, Craig (1996). "Appreciation: Marie Slocombe, 1912–1995". Folk Music Journal. English Folk Dance and Song Society. 7 (3): 272–273.
- ↑ "Sounds of the past saved for future". BBC News. 30 August 2007. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-10798501. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
- ↑ "BBC Sound Effects Archive". BBC. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
- ↑ Memnon (7 September 2023). "Memnon to digitize BBC audio archive". Press release. https://memnon.com/memnon-preserves-bbc-audio-archives/. Retrieved 23 July 2025.