Meet the team

The Collection Care Expert

“ I began volunteering at RRA several months ago, having initially no knowledge of what it would involve other than what I had read on this site. I was immediately made welcome and shown around the Archive to get an understanding about what it was all about. From the start I found it fascinating – not least because of how such a unique and culture-rich collection would be housed in a unit on such an unassuming (I think is the word) trading estate on the edge of Stockport.

My main task is to sort through publications – sometimes from up to a century ago – extracting the advertisements, checking whether they already exist in the Archive and, if not, filing them away, suitably protected, using a well-understood protocol so that they can be easily extracted when needed. That is my main task but I assist wherever needed – including acting as electrician’s mate when one of the Trustees was installing new light fittings: “Hold onto this while I switch the power on to test it. Don’t worry, it is insulated.”

They say that every day is a school-day and I find it compelling what my work at the Archive tells me about changes in social attitudes over the decades – generally, in relation to topics like gender stereotyping and how children should be raised, but also specifically, in noting how advertising of, for example, tobacco products and fur coats has changed and/or become extinct. 

The work I do is interesting; the surroundings comfortable and the company of other volunteers and the Trustees most agreeable. Tea is constantly being brewed and – the most important element of any workplace environment – there is usually a plentiful supply of cake. I have found that my time at RRA is very far from being a zero-sum game; I am sure that the knowledge and experience I accumulate each week far exceeds the benefit to the Archive of the little bit of work that I do (but don’t tell Richard.)”

Our Preservation Champion

“I retired and was looking for interesting things to do.  I found the archive on Stockport Volunteer Hub in November 2024, with the tempting offer of maintenance and woodworking jobs.  After the first visit I was drawn in by the friendliness of the group, the log stove heated office, frequent biscuit-fuelled tea breaks, a variety of interesting tasks and listening to gentlemen of a certain age talking animatedly about old cars.  The enthusiasm of the volunteers, even when sorting through and filing scores of the same adverts is strangely infectious, I think they must be putting something in the tea.”

Kevin is one of our beer mat specialists – from our collection he can date them, identify the brewer, country of origin, and much more. Thanks to Kevin and our other beer mat volunteers we now have about 30,000 beer mats filed away – beer mats, remember, are an excellent and subliminal way for brewers to advertise as you’re enjoying your pint.

 But Kevin didn’t always do this. With a background in chemistry, until six months ago he was in the IT world. With retirement beckoning, he started to look around for something to fill his time once he’d left work. He was keen to ‘do something useful’ and ‘pay something back’, so registered with the Stockport Volunteer Hub. The Richard Roberts Archive caught his eye, and he felt he really had to check out this ‘crazy place with a collection of beer mats’! He’s never regretted his decision! 

 Kevin comes in for two half days each week, and when not processing beer mats, finds the archive a wonderful place to meet with other people. In fact, he’s keeping so busy he still hasn’t had time to get his fishing rod out…

Theresa has been with us for about three months now and is currently filing clipped ads from 1970s’ copies of TV Times. She thoroughly enjoys the immersion this brings, into a culture of flared trousers and nylon maxi dresses.

 It was through the Stockport Post that Theresa found us. A few months back the Post did a front-page article about us, and this told her how we were an advertising archive, right on her doorstep. Now, Theresa had worked in advertising for all of her career, and having recently retired, was looking for an opportunity to do something useful.

 Theresa now comes in for at least a half-day each week and thoroughly enjoys the nostalgia that product filing brings. Her particular skills were in scheduling and budgeting, and this has meant she has been able to take a look at our product-filing processes and suggest some key improvements.

 Funnily enough, Theresa already had direct experience of the TV Times: she had placed ads in it in the 1970s. She has yet to find those specific ads, but has shared her knowledge of the process. Placing an ad required up to six months’ lead time, and in those days there were only a few reproduction houses, all based in London, who could do the artwork, which meant scheduling the work with them. This was before the days when we all did our own PDFs!