What Is Oral History and Why It Matters in Paisley

What is oral history?

Oral history is the recording of people’s memories in their own words. It’s not about dates carved in stone or official records locked away in archives. It’s about lived experience — what it felt like to grow up somewhere, to work there, to belong to it.

When someone talks about their childhood, their job, their family or their street, they are sharing history that would otherwise disappear. That is oral history.

Why oral history matters in Paisley

Paisley has a powerful recorded past — mills, trade unions, music halls, football, faith, activism. But so much of the town’s real story lives in memory rather than books.

Oral history captures:

• What it was like to work in the mills

• How neighbourhoods changed over time

• Everyday life, humour, hardship and pride

• Stories that were never considered “important enough” to write down

These voices matter because they fill the gaps left by official history. Without them, Paisley’s story becomes incomplete.

Local voices tell local truth

No one understands Paisley better than the people who lived it.

A factory ledger can tell you when a mill opened. A person can tell you what the noise was like, how cold it was in winter, how people looked out for each other, and how it felt when the gates finally closed.

Oral history keeps those details alive. It preserves accent, rhythm, language and perspective — things that can’t be captured any other way.

Why this matters now

Every year, memories are lost simply because they were never recorded. Once someone is gone, their story often goes with them.

Recording oral history now means:

• Protecting stories before they disappear

• Giving people a voice and a platform

• Creating an archive for future generations

• Letting Paisley speak for itself

It also helps younger people understand where they come from, not through nostalgia, but through real voices and real experiences.

Paisley Heritage Radio and oral history

Paisley Heritage Radio exists to capture and share these stories. Through interviews, conversations and community-led audio, it creates a living record of Paisley local history — told by the people who know it best.

This isn’t about polishing the past or rewriting it. It’s about listening.

Because Paisley’s history isn’t just something that happened.It’s something people still carry with them.