Helen Clark (8 August 1952 – 14 August 2015) was one of the pioneers of

Oral History Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Biography

Helen Clark was born in Lewisham Hospital, London to parents Sheila, a teacher, and Geoffrey Banfield, a manager with Esso Petroleum. She studied Education and History at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and in 1973, during her third year there, she met her future husband,

Anthony John Clark Anthony John Clark OBE FRSE (18 September 1951 – 12 August 2004) was an English molecular biologist who was a founder of applying molecular technology to farm animals. He was director of the Roslin Institute from 2002 to 2004. Backgro ...

, a scientist from Lincolnshire, who later became director of the

Roslin Institute The Roslin Institute is an animal sciences research institute at Easter Bush, Midlothian, Scotland, part of the University of Edinburgh, and is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. It is best known for creati ...

and was awarded an OBE. With John she had two children Charlie (born 1989) and Laurie (born 1991). After John's death in 2004 she married Jim Kendall in 2011. Helen died on 14 August 2015 after a two-year illness with

Motor Neurone Disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...

. She created a blog to chart her progress and share its effects with others.

Career

Helen moved to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in 1977 where she volunteered at the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

before getting her first job as an Art Assistant at the

Royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

Scottish Museum, now the

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opened in ...

. In 1982, she became Assistant Keeper of Social History at Beamish North of England Open Air Museum in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, where she first began getting involved in recording oral history. Helen returned to Edinburgh to become the Keeper of Social History at Edinburgh City Museums from 1985 to 2005; then Special Projects Manager until her retirement in 2012. She shared the task of setting up a new

social history Social history, often called the new social history, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in his ...

museum, the

People's Story Museum The People's Story Museum is a museum housed in the historic Canongate Tolbooth, which houses collections telling the story of the working-class people of Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one ...

, which opened in 1989 and "explores the lives of Edinburgh's ordinary people at work and play from the late 18th century to today", using oral testimony and first hand experience.

Projects and interests

In 2009 Helen prepared the

Votes for Women A vote is a formal method of choosing in an election. Vote(s) or The Vote may also refer to: Music *''V.O.T.E.'', an album by Chris Stamey and Yo La Tengo, 2004 *"Vote", a song by the Submarines from ''Declare a New State!'', 2006 Television * " ...

exhibition at the

Museum of Edinburgh The Museum of Edinburgh, formerly known as Huntly House Museum, is a museum in Edinburgh, Scotland, housing a collection relating to the town's origins, history and legends. Exhibits include an original copy of the National Covenant signed at ...

as part of Gude Cause. In the same year she became a member of the Gude Cause New Media Group (renamed Gude Cause Project) to develop links to a digital record of films, recordings and photographs made of activities organised nationally, leading up to the Gude Cause procession in Edinburgh. In 2014 Helen was interviewed for the WEA Scotland Breaking the Mould project which was researching material for a publication relating to women and women's groups, with connections to Edinburgh, involved in Social and Political Activism in the 100 years after the beginning of

WWI World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The publication, ''Breaking the Mould: Edinburgh'', includes a tribute to Helen who died just as it was going to the printers. For many years Helen was a member of the DRBs Scottish Women's History Group and of Protest in Harmony, an Edinburgh-based radical singing group.

Publications

The opening of the People's Story Museum coincided with the publication of Helen's first book, ''Sing a Rebel Song: The Story of James Connolly''. Her second book, ''Raise the Banners High'', was published in 1999 and illustrates and examines the wide range of Trade Union banners held by Edinburgh Museums. These banners and flags were carried by Edinburgh workers as symbols of their causes whether in celebration or to campaign against a working practice or injustice. Her third book, written with Elizabeth Carnegie, ''She Was Aye Workin ''– Memories of Tenement Women in Edinburgh and Glasgow'', published in 2002 used oral history sources to give "a vivid picture of tough, resilient women, and communities".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Helen 1952 births 2015 deaths Oral historians Alumni of the University of Cambridge Women museum directors British writers British women writers