Guides
Start with what you remember
Practical, thoughtful ways to record a life, organise family material, and pass stories on without turning it into an overwhelming project.
A simple beginning
You do not need to know everything
Preserving a story is less about producing a perfect family history and more about capturing the details that would otherwise be lost: a voice, a place, a recipe, a working day, a turning point, a name on the back of a photograph.
Choose one small task below. Each guide is designed to help you make useful progress in an afternoon.
Practical guides
Ways to keep a story
Record & interview
Record a life-story conversation
Prepare gentle prompts, set the scene, and capture a clear recording.
Record & interview
Questions to ask your parents
The questions worth asking your mum or dad, while you still can.
Record & interview
Questions to ask your grandparents
Keep the oldest voice in the family, and the history it holds.
Photos & film
Organise family photographs
Add names, dates, and stories before the knowledge disappears.
Photos & film
Digitise old video and cine film
Rescue the footage from dying tapes and reels before it is lost.
Trace your roots
Use genealogy sites
Which site holds what, and how to search it without wasting money.
Keep it safe
Build a small family archive
Choose formats, name files, back up, and keep the originals safe.
My Life, My Story
A guided place to keep it all
The legacy journal provides prompts for memories, people, places, work, family traditions, and the experiences that made a life distinctive.
Use it alone, fill it in with a relative, or let it guide a series of recorded conversations.
View the journal