Highland Archive Centre celebrates volunteer support

20th May 2020

High Life Highland's Highland Archive Centre staff are applauding volunteers for the Charity, as people continue to provide support throughout the Covid-19 outbreak.

One enthusiastic volunteer, Iain Fraser, who turned 80 this week, has used his local knowledge to support the Am Baile digital archive team in identifying people and places in photographs taken in and around Inverness in the 1950s and 1960s.Iain has early onset dementia and the opportunity to volunteer for Highland Archive Centre has given him a new lease of life.

Iain Fraser, HLH volunteer, said: "It means so much to me to have been accepted and made so welcome by Jamie and the other staff at the Highland Archive Centre. Volunteering has given me a new sense of purpose, is helping with treatment for dementia and I'm delighted that my experiences in life are useful to others. Stories and memories are so important."

Jamie Gaukroger, Am Baile coordinator at High Life Highland, said: "We are delighted to have Iain and our other volunteers on board. Iain’s knowledge of the people and places around Inverness has been an enormous help as we catalogue photographs from past decades. Iain started volunteering with us last October and has been concentrating on Am Baile since early February this year. Iain’s family have said they noticed a big difference in him since he started volunteering and people supporting Iain in the health profession see it as a really positive way to help with managing his dementia. Iain is one of several volunteers supporting the website and we always have room for more!"

Am Baile was founded in 2000, creating a digital archive spanning the history and culture of the Highlands and Islands. Since then, thousands of items from archives, libraries, museums and private collections have been digitised and are saved on the online site. New material continues to be added all the time.

The Highland Archive Service is responsible for collecting, preserving, and making accessible, archives relating to the history of the Highlands. The archive collections at the Highland Archive Centre in Inverness date from the 14th century to the present day covering the counties of Inverness, Nairn, Ross and Cromarty and Sutherland. Find out more at https://www.highlifehighland.com/highland-archive-centre/ To volunteer with Highland Archive Centre, contact [email protected].