Covid-19 has changed all of our lives. It’s something that none of us will ever forget. But how will it be seen by future generations? Will it almost disappear from memory like the “Spanish” ‘Flu pandemic of 1918-1919? Or will 2020 be understood and even commemorated as a year that changed the course of history?

To ensure that the sacrifices and hardships of the people of Worcestershire are not forgotten, the George Marshall Medical Museum is creating a unique new pandemic collection. In addition to the artefacts that have become emblematic of our times, the experiences and emotions of staff and patients at the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust are being added to the museum’s extensive oral history archive.

Now from these recordings and additional interviews, Applied Drama students at the University of Worcester have created four short scenes revealing hidden stories of the County’s response to the pandemic so far.

These are performed by their authors.

With thanks to History West Midlands for supporting this project and to Andy Partington of Swift Professional Audio for working with us to record and edit the tracks.

With thanks to Alison Reeves, Deputy Head School of Arts and Applied Drama Students at University of Worcester for their work and enthusiasm at this difficult time. The students are pictured below from left to right: Abbie Caddick, Alice Linforth, Alison Reeves, Charlotte Roberts, Ciera Jones, Courteney Last, Jacob Ireland, Maddie Noakes, Storm Jackson and William Husbands.

Skip to 1:20 in each track to skip the introduction.

Thank you for listening to these stories.

To view our online gallery of masked portraits of staff at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, click here.

To submit your pandemic testimony, click here.