World Alzheimer’s Day: Resources for Reminiscence

On World Alzheimer’s Day we wanted to tell you about the latest additions to the Memory Archive, which we have created with People’s Collection Wales. This is a free resource for use in reminiscence work for people living with dementia.

“Reminiscing and life history work can be a powerful way of communicating with a person with dementia. It can be the basis for enjoyable time spent together and a way for the person with dementia to feel empowered. This can contribute positively to their well-being.” Alzheimer’s Society

The Memory Archive is a series of themed collections, designed with feedback from healthcare professionals, to provide a rich source of material for reminiscence activities. The collections include photos, video clips and sound recordings which can bring back vivid memories of life in the 1940s to the 1980s. The material is all related to Wales and has been contributed from a variety of sources, including our National Monuments Record of Wales (NMRW) Archive, The National Library of Wales, Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales, as well as archives, libraries, museums, community groups and individuals across Wales.

Since its launch, the most popular collections have included ‘Kitchens’ (4,575 views), ‘Work’ (4,407 views), and ‘School Life’ (4,086 views).

In the past few months, we have added more collections to the Memory Archive:

Photos from the 1980s (to expand our 1940s-1970s collections).

(image: Women working in the Laura Ashley factory, 1980s, Women’s Archive Wales).

‘Shipping’ themed photos and recordings (to expand our work life/industries collections).

(Image: Unloading bananas at Barry Docks, Vales of Glamorgan Libraries).

‘University’ themed photos (to expand on our Schools/Education collection).

(Image: Aberystwyth University students in lecture, Jenkins12).

‘Pride’ – an LGBTQ+ collection with images dating from the 1970s onwards.

(Image: badges protesting against Section 28, Museum of Cardiff).

Other useful resources:

The Memory Archive teaching resource has been designed to raise young people’s dementia awareness and provide valuable life skills, helping them to support people in their families and communities living with dementia using activities such as the Memory Tree (pictured), designed for adding images to the branches that represent important memories from a person’s life.

Fields of Play: The Sporting Heritage of Wales is superbly illustrated with historical and contemporary photography, exploring the diversity of sporting facilities from public parks and open-air swimming baths to welfare grounds, stadiums, and the role of the countryside as a national playground.

If you are interested in using this publication for reminiscence use, please contact Marisa Morgan, marisa.morgan@rcahmw.gov.uk, for a free copy (packing & postage costs may apply).

21/09/2021