We recorded 31 in-depth interviews with former DEC employees and customers, preserving voices that shaped Britain’s digital revolution. These stories—now hosted by Reading Museum, The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC), and Archives of IT—offer a unique insight into the human side of technological change.
Capturing Reading’s Digital Story Through Oral History
To mark the 60th anniversary of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in Reading, we launched an ambitious oral history project to preserve the human stories behind Britain’s digital revolution. Working with former employees, customers, and community groups, we recorded 31 in-depth interviews that trace how DEC shaped careers, technology, and the town’s identity.
This collaborative effort combined expert-led interpretation, high-quality audio-visual production, and inclusive participation to ensure a representative record of voices—from engineers and business leaders to those often overlooked in tech histories. These testimonies are now accessible through Reading Museum, The National Museum of Computing, and Archives of IT, offering future generations a vivid, personal account of innovation and community.
Listen to a selection of the recordings below or watch all the interviews at https://archivesit.org.uk/organisation/dec/
Oral Histories
Archives of IT: Helping to preserve Reading’s Digital Legacy
Our collaboration with Archives of IT (AIT) seeks to ensure that the voices and stories behind Reading’s tech heritage do not end with the temporary exhibition. AIT now hosts the Oral History interviews we captured with DEC pioneers on its website and YouTube channel. This adds to their already invaluable collection of resource for researchers, educators, and the public. This partnership now connects Reading’s local history to a national archive, enriching the record of UK computing and amplifying our town’s historic role in global digital transformation.
Explore the oral history collection https://archivesit.org.uk/organisation/dec/
Return to the Reading's Digital Revolution homepage or explore the next section: Object Collecting
