Interviews with people who have made Milton Keynes their home
We interviewed over 50 people who have made Milton Keynes their home. They were invited to share their memories and experiences of living in the city, spanning the past fifty years. These interviews have been edited into a series of short digital stories which you can view by clicking on the links. The films show a vibrant portrait of a place made up of diverse experiences and cultures.
Extent
52 interviews and videos
Reference number
PSM/001
Storage location
Digital collection
Records in this Group
Ebony was born and raised in Milton Keynes. She talks about her passion for sport, realising that she first had a talent for running when she was very young. She shares how she feels that living in Milton Keynes has helped nurture her sporting talent training at Milton Keynes Athletics Club and travelling overseas to ...
Photographer Daniele is a new arrival to Milton Keynes, relocating in 2017 for work. He shares his thoughts on the contrasts between his home, the historic city of Venice and post-modern, contemporary Milton Keynes. The city’s urban design and built environment provides inspiration for his photography.
Guy is a Community Development Worker. He moved to England from his Ivory Coast homeland in the mid 90s, and has now settled in Milton Keynes. He talks about his first impressions, and how Milton Keynes appealed to him as a good place for him to raise his family. He shares how he has witnessed ...
Peter moved to Bletchley in 1961 and worked as a GP. He talks about how a large number of his patients worked at Bletchley Park during the war. After piecing together snippets of their conversations he realised the significance of Bletchley Park. He was instrumental in setting up the Bletchley Park Trust and worked with ...
Pharmacist Shalom shares her journey, from her homeland in Nigeria via her studies in Russia, to settling in Milton Keynes. She talks about how her first impressions were of a welcoming and clean place, and a great place to raise a family. Shalom has established a new, natural skincare business in Milton Keynes, integrating her ...
Alex moved with her young family from Australia to Milton Keynes in 1972. Attracted by the city’s need for skilled workers, her husband secured a job as a carpenter and they were offered a house on Galley Hill. She talks about moving into an entirely new area, without any amenities or services, and the community ...
Joe’s story focuses on how his love of music has shaped his life in Milton Keynes. Joe grew up in Wolverton, but after going to university in London he felt that Milton Keynes did not offer a vibrant music culture, lacking the record shops, clubs and venues of larger cities. This led Joe to establish ...
Fred was born in Dublin, Ireland, and travelled the world with the Navy from the age of sixteen until he eventually came to Milton Keynes in 1976. Fred relays his first memories of Milton Keynes: looking for employment, walking all over Milton Keynes in the hot 1976 summer until he found a job.
Mike moved to Milton Keynes from Uganda, East Africa. On settling in the UK he began to work in social services. Mike was aware that many young people arriving from different parts of the world can struggle to integrate into new communities. This led him to establish the Global Outreach Foundation, supporting his local communities ...
Caz moved Milton Keynes in 1978. She talks of her unhappiness about moving to the New Town, recalling a desolate place, mostly mud! Things improved when she attended Stantonbury Campus and developed a passion for performance and the arts which gave her sense of being a part of a community.
?Caz shares her recollections of joining ...
Diane moved to Milton Keynes in 1975 when her husband took a job with the MK Development Corporation. She talks about her early memories, recalling that there was no hospital or city centre, and that it was so muddy that she sent her children to school in wellington boots. One of her earliest memories is ...
Chris moved to Milton Keynes from the South East of England in the late 80s. He has a passion for music and after a trip to see a band at the Woughton Centre he decided to apply for the job as Arts Manager. Whilst there he co-founded the rock and alternative music venue ? The ...
Bart moved to Milton Keynes from Washington D.C. in the United States in 1996. He talks about his involvement with an LGBT group in Milton Keynes and also his work with Milton Keynes Community Foundation. Bart shares the pressures he and his same sex partner faced at the start of their relationship as a result ...
Bill moved to Milton Keynes in 1974 after finding that house prices in London were too expensive. He was working as a Zoologist at London Zoo, but in the late ’80s was made redundant. Bill then took on the role of Museum Director in Milton Keynes. Bill recollects his first impressions of the Museum, a ...
Naseem was born and raised in Kenya and moved to Milton Keynes in 2000. When she first arrived she was a single parent struggling to juggle work and childcare. She decided to open her own restaurant and now provides work there for women, who for cultural reasons might not be allowed to work with men. ...
Tariq moved to Milton Keynes from Islamabad, Pakistan. He talks about being a new arrival to Milton Keynes when the terrorist attack of 7/7 happened. He had never experienced being a minority before. He cites the importance of the friends that he made locally, who were welcoming and open, and shares how he feels integration ...
Henry talks about his time working as a civil servant at the Department of Environment, focusing on New Towns, outlining how the civil service, central government and new town development corporations worked together. He details how the Milton Keynes Development Corporation had far-reaching powers which allowed them to consent to development, legally circumventing local authorities. ...
Arriving in Milton Keynes in 1980 from North London for work, Jenni shares her first impressions of a New Town that appeared to be a series of islands, of housing estates with mud around them’, and that life living on the new estates felt very isolated. Isolation was a key issue for many communities and ...
John moved to Milton Keynes in 1974 when he got a job as a transportation planner with the MK Development Corporation. He shares his pride in being part of the team that developed the Redways, relaying that after a long process of negotiation with Central Government MKDC were permitted to combine lanes for pedestrians and ...
Will moved to Milton Keynes from London in 1978. He developed a passion for skateboarding as a result of an encounter with a group of skateboarders during a peace march at the Peace Pagoda. He shares how he was a part of the local punk rock scene and that it was highly unusual for punks ...
Riffat moved to Milton Keynes from Pakistan in her teens. She shares her first impressions of Milton Keynes and how she has seen the city grow up around her. She talks about how she wanted to integrate into UK culture, but also share her own culture with others.
Kathleen’s story tells how she moved to Milton Keynes as a child as a result of her father securing a role as site manager for the then new development of Eaglestone. She recalls her father instructing the family to pack wellington boots and on arrival she shares her astonishment at the site’s lack of roads ...
Kathleen tells the story of how her father entered a competition in the local newspaper to name one of the first new pubs in Milton Keynes. There were about 500 entries, and his entry to name the pub ‘The Starting Gate’ won the prize. As the competition was held just before Christmas, he was presented ...
Anna was born and raised in Milton Keynes. Growing up Anna was involved with local music groups including the Milton Keynes Music Service and the Milton Keynes Youth Choir. Her passion for music continued as a young adult, leading Anna to compose and perform her own music at local open mic nights, Anna says that ...
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