Robert Wilkinson obituary

"Outside his career, Robert's main passion was oral history, which he believed was a way of giving voice to ordinary people who would otherwise have left behind just birth and death certificates. In 1983 he co-founded the Waltham Forest Oral History workshop, whose members interviewed hundreds of local people; it also published books and pamphlets on subjects such as school strikes, childhood health and local pubs."

"Robert was born in Harlow, Essex, to John, a machine parts worker, and Irene (nee Gray), who worked in a pub. After attending the nearby Newport grammar school he studied glass and ceramics at Stourbridge College of Art in the West Midlands, where outside his studies he volunteered with the Severn Valley Railway. Once his college studies were complete he moved in 1975 to South Woodford, Essex, where he shared a house with several others, including Val Clark, a social worker."

Robert Wilkinson spent over 30 years in local government, mainly as a community worker for Waltham Forest, later managing funding and working in planning and economic development. He dedicated himself to oral history, co-founding the Waltham Forest Oral History workshop that recorded hundreds of local lives and published books and pamphlets, and served as committee member and treasurer of the Oral History Society. He worked freelance later, including residencies at Kettle's Yard and the British Library. Born in Harlow to John and Irene, he studied glass and ceramics at Stourbridge, volunteered on the Severn Valley Railway, married Val Clark in 1982 and raised three sons.

Read at www.theguardian.com