Isle of Man 'rich sound archive' to be digitised

The recordings include interviews with women held in internment camps on the island in WW2

Recordings of the last native Manx speakers and wartime internees from the Isle of Man's "rich sound archive" are to be digitised and put online as part of a British Library project.

About 600 recordings held in the Manx National Heritage (MNH) archives will be converted as part of the £9.3m Unlocking Our Sound Heritage scheme

The pieces, which were degrading due to age, were at risk of being lost.

MNH's Jude Dicken said digitising them would "protect" the originals.

She said the island's "rich sound archive" had been "tricky" for people to access previously, but putting them online would mean people could listen to them without damaging the original formats.

The MNH said alongside the conversations with the Manx speakers and interviews with people held in internment camps on the island in World War Two, the recordings also include "first-hand memories of working in the island's busy guest houses" and the atmosphere of the last night of Bushy's Brew Pub in Douglas on 9 January 1998.

The initiative, which has been funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, has seen the British Library co-ordinate ten digitising hubs across the British Isles.

The Manx recordings are being digitised in Belfast.