Researchers at the University of Essex are helping one of the UK's oldest LGBTQ+ charities preserving its 45-year history.
Academics from the University of Essex have partnered with The OutHouse in Colchester to record and maintain its historical record.
The historians began gathering personal recollections at the charity's 45th anniversary launch.
They plan to continue their efforts during Colchester Pride on August 16, encouraging the LGBTQ+ community to share their stories.
The initiative is part of The OutHouse's "45 Voices" campaign, which aims to document and commemorate the charity's significant past and the individuals who contributed to its success.
The project is headed by Dr Alix Green and aims to assist voluntary organisations in North East Essex in preserving their histories for a local community archive.
The OutHouse was established in 1979 as the Colchester Gay Switchboard and is one of the UK's oldest support organisations for the LGBTQ+ community.
Dr Green said: "Histories of LGBTQ+ communities are not generally well represented in mainstream archives and museums and representation has often focused on urban centres like London and Manchester.
"So, there’s a gap in the records about queer lives in ordinary towns and cities where people have seen huge changes during their lives.
"The current climate is worrying and unsettling for many queer people, lending the task a new urgency and importance."
The researchers, including Dr Green's team members Dr Samantha Woodward, PhD students Catherine Renny, and Lily Davis, and Essex History alumna Rebecca Alloway, will be at the Pride event to collect oral histories and memories on postcards.
One contributor said: "In times when queer identities and stories are suppressed and under threat, it helps each generation see that people like them have survived and thrived before."
Another noted: "When we're looking ahead to the future, sometimes we can find strength in our past… being able to preserve history, it is so very important because it just reminds you that even though it can feel lonely sometimes, especially if you're new to coming out and you're new to this world, it's such a rich community and we've always been here."
The research team has also trained The OutHouse staff on archiving their collection, which comprises photos, newsletters, and advice materials.
Thomas Empson, chief executive of The OutHouse, said: "Last year we celebrated our 45th birthday, which is no mean feat.
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"While planning what we want to achieve over the next five years, building up to our 50th anniversary, we were thinking about our legacy.
"We felt it was really important to tell people where we have come from, who has shaped the LGBTQAI+ history here in Essex and to try and tell our history in a way that will engage past and future generations.
"So much change has happened over the last four and a half decades in UK law and at a grassroots level, and we are collaborating to find a way to bring this to life so that our local queer history is better understood, researched, and cited."
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