Collecting stories for ‘Birmingham, its People, its History’: Peter Dolan

Staff at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery have spent the last year collecting oral histories and objects from Birmingham people. One of the people interviewed was the late Peter Dolan, a Big Issue seller who had become a familiar face in Birmingham city centre.

Peter had been selling the magazine in England and Ireland for over 10 years. He came to the museum in July 2011 to record his oral history; he spoke to museum staff about his early life and his experience of selling the Big Issue in Birmingham. Peter’s oral history along with his jacket and seller’s I.D. badge will go on display as part of the new galleries ‘Birmingham, its People, its History’ which opens on 12 October 2012.

Read In Memory of Peter Dolan on the Big Issue website.

Photo: (C) Andrew Jackson www.writtenbylight.com

We want your tales of the Bullring!

Do you recall Birmingham’s Bullring in the 1960s?

Have you witnessed its dramatic transformation in recent years?

We would love to hear your stories! Find us outside the Jane Norman store in the Upper East Mall at the Bullring between 11am and 4pm this Friday March 23rd.

We are recording oral history about Birmingham for the Your Birmingham gallery – one of the new Birmingham History Galleries that will open at BMAG later this year. Your story could be one of the ones to be recorded and heard by people in the gallery!

 

We have had a great response from the public when we have asked for their Birmingham memories, so we hope that many will share their stories about the Bullring too!