Learning 18 September 2019

Winner of Business Archive Council Grant announced

The Business Archive Council (BAC) are delighted to announce that the winner of the 2019 Grant for Business Archives related to Sports is Falkirk Community Trust for cataloguing the archive collection of Falkirk Football Club.

As a new award, the BAC was pleased to have received a number of applications with a very high standard of entries.  It was a difficult decision, but the panel felt that Falkirk’s cataloguing project would make a real difference, was achievable and realistic, and would lead to further projects and initiatives. 

Falkirk Community Trust is a company limited by guarantee with charitable status and was established by Falkirk Council.  As a not-for-profit organisation, they strive to support community aspirations and have a track record of working successfully with a wide range of partners to promote the benefits and impact of sport and physical activity. 

The records of Falkirk Football Club document the strong links between leisure as a business and the local community.  The club was founded in 1876 and the records cover nearly a century of its history including Sir Alex Ferguson’s time with the club, and fundraising for the Dunblane tragedy.  The records have recently been gifted to the Falkirk Community Trust which runs an accredited archive service at Callendar House where, once catalogued, the records will be made available to the public. 

The uncatalogued collection has become of particular interest as a result of a highly successful exhibition recently hosted by the Trust.  ‘Falkirk FC: A Fans’ View’ prompted discussion between the Football Club and the newly appointed Archivist to share the club’s heritage with the wider community.  A short film, to be shared on social media, is planned to highlight the work carried out with the BAC grant money and to direct fans and researchers to the Falkirk Football Club archive. 

Paul Han-Lei Choi, Archivist of Falkirk Community Trust said: “Falkirk Archives are over the moon at having been awarded this Business Archives Council (BAC) cataloguing grant.  The inception of a grant specifically focusing on sports related collections and their selection of the Falkirk Football Club’s archive is an encouraging move, marking a change in the archive sector to working more closely with our communities and acknowledging the importance of shared sports experience.  In the case of the Falkirk FC collection, these records have enormous cross-generational appeal and potential, covering activities from the 1900s until the 1990s.  This project will help to make a century’s worth of club material searchable and available to all, opening up more opportunities for our community to explore their club and its history.  On a wider organisational level, it brings together the sports and heritage teams within the Trust, while also building on our strong existing relationship with the club.”