Picture it: your family history preserved Don’t let those memories gather dust or become mysteries for future generations
Most families have photographs, films, treasures, stories and memories that hold a special place in their hearts, even though they’re gathering dust in the attic.
The sad truth is that most of those special family memories will be lost to subsequent generations, who will have no idea of their significance or the stories attached to them – unless you preserve them now.
But what’s the best way of doing it?
“Too often we let family memories and moments slip away unrecorded or forgotten,” says Jonathan Crane, a BBC TV documentary maker and founder of The Personal Documentary Company.
“We wish we’d talked more to elderly relatives about their lives, we let time fade the memories of special events, and we take endless photographs and videos only to let them gather dust in the attic.
“Sometimes we make a family tree – but names and dates on paper can only tell part of the story, and will only be of limited interest to future generations.”
But he says there are lots of ways to bring family trees to life. FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS
Many of us possess old family photographs, often without knowing when and where they were taken and who’s in them.
Don’t just dump old photos in a shoebox and shove them in the attic – find out as much information as you can about the people in the pictures from the rest of your family and write it on the back of the photo or better still, put them in an album.
“Then, when your grownup grandchildren find that shoebox or album, they’ll have a treasure trove of memories to explore rather than a bunch of dusty, meaningless images,” says Crane.
And don’t be put off if photos are faded and torn – they can be restored. OLD FILMS
Old home movie film reels are often hidden away in boxes and need to be watched with a projector and screen if you still have them, and if the film hasn’t deteriorated too much. Such films need to be digitised and copied onto DVD, which Crane says isn’t necessarily an expensive process.
As with photographs, try and find out about the who, what and where of the people in the films from living relatives.
“Future grandchildren won’t be interested in wading through hours of footage of anonymous people, but if they know it was grandfather Fred going off to the war, they’ll be more interested,” says Crane.