Winning Endeavours, celebrating sport in London’s archives
Winning Endeavours, a venture led by AfL with London Metropolitan Archives and archives throughout the capital, digitized 1,700 images relating to London’s Olympic History and published these online at www.winningendeavours.org. The website showcases documents, photographs, newspaper articles and ephemera relating to the 1908 and 1948 Olympic Games, to London Olympians and other Olympic Games in which London organisations have been involved, and some general images on sport in London.
To celebrate the launch of the website we held outreach and interpretation hosted by archives in London. Sessions included ‘Field of Dreams’ family outdoor activities, working with a costumed interpreter, a local history quiz, egg and spoon races and a booth where participants were asked to draw themselves and place themselves into an Olympic stadium as a spectator, official or athlete. We also ran talks and guided walks.
Big Wheel Theatre Company ran seven family events during February half-term at seven different venues, which included performances of national anthems and recreations of famous Olympic races and events. Big Wheel also faciltated training sessions for practitioners wishing to use sporting themes in their outreach programmes.
AfL would like to thank the following repositories who have contributed material relating to London's Olympic history to the project:
Bishopsgate Institute Archives
Brent Community History Library and Archives
British Library Newspaper Library
British Postal Museum and Archive
Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies
DIAGEO plc
Ealing Local History Centre
Essex Record Office
Great Ormond Street Hospital Archive
Hammersmith and Fulham Archives and Local History Centre
Hillingdon Local Studies Archives and Museum Service
Historic Advertising Trust
International Paralympic Archive via Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies
Kingston Museum and Heritage Service
Library and Museum of Freemasonry
London Metropolitan Archives
Parliamentary Archives
Royal London Hospital Archives
Saint Bartholomew's Hospital Archive and Museum
Scout Association Archive
Surrey History Centre
Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archive
Transport For London Archives
TUC Library Collections, London Metropolitan University
University of Westminster Archive
Winning Endeavours was very pleased to be awarded Archive Pace Setter status by the National Council on Archives in the summer.
If you have any questions about the Winning Endeavours project please contact Nicola Avery at nicola.avery@cityoflondon.gov.