I’m a freelance TV editor and I decided to volunteer for the Institutional History Society when the COVID crisis left a large gap in my diary between contracts. I needed something to do to keep my brain engaged, ideally that could be done from home on my laptop, and researching Victorian history fitted the bill, as well as satisfying my natural curiosity and enjoyment of learning about history.
My day job – making TV documentaries – means I get to learn about lots of different worlds and subjects while working, and I think my desire to find out more about history has grown out of that. Since I’ve started working on this project I’ve been fascinated by the little glimpse I’ve got so far into the workings of the Victorian penal system. I can’t wait to find out more, and I also feel I’m doing something positive by making sure we don’t forget about lives that might not have had the happiest of endings many years ago.