North East shipbuilding archive hopes to preserve memories

The friends and families of former shipbuilders have been urged to record their stories before they are forgotten.

Bronwyn Mogie, 33, from Jarrow, has been leading the campaign to establish a shipbuilding heritage museum in South Tyneside , a former hotspot for the industry.

While plans and fundraising for the museum are in the early stages, Mogie feared many stories could be lost before a spade has been put in the ground.

To counter this, people across north-east England have been asked to sit down with loved ones who once worked in the shipyards to contribute to the Shipyard Heritage Museum's online living archive. The archive is open to stories from the rivers Tyne, Wear and Tees.

Generations of Mogie's family were involved in shipbuilding and her dad was part of the last generation of workers before the yards on the Tyne were closed.

She is working alongside Andrew Leslie, the great-great-great nephew of the founder of Hawthorn Leslie shipyard in Hebburn, which closed in the 1980s.

"We wanted to do it properly, have funding for it, but people are just getting older and it's just not possible," Mogie said.

"I don't know how long we'd have to wait for the funding."

Voice recordings, videos and photographs can be uploaded to the museum's website.

"Sit them down and then let them talk," she said.

"Time's running out. One day they're going to be all gone and we'll never be able to get them back."

She hopes listening to family members' stories will provide an opportunity for younger generations to learn more about their heritage and area's history.

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