BACKGROUND
Northampton Saints Rugby Football Club was formed, in 1880, when Reverend Samuel Wathen Wigg identified rugby as a way to channel the energies of some of the county’s more troubled youngsters. More than 140 years on, Northampton Saints Foundation continues his legacy, using the power of sport and the values of rugby to INSPIRE, SUPPORT and EDUCATE thousands of people each year. Our education and social inclusion programmes inspire the current generation to learn, develop new skills, increase confidence and where appropriate return to education, training or employment.
Northampton Saints Foundation have been successful in securing grant funding through The National Lottery Heritage Fund, to deliver a project focusing on the 1950’s and 1960’s, named the ‘Black, Green and Golden Age of Northampton Saints RFC’. With over 250 players registered during this period as well as key committee/staff members, we are interested in finding out more about the people who played an important part in creating this rich heritage of the club.
We aim to research this era of the club, engaging with a wide range of former players/staff/supporters to build a rich history to capture this bygone time. We want to capture their stories through interviews, recording oral histories and reminiscence sessions. Through this project we will catalogue and digitise memorabilia that we hold in our archive, and accession additional relevant items, storing them correctly to preserve and protect them.
ROLE
You will be required to support the Heritage and Partnerships Lead to deliver the project, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund by fuelling your passion for history and help us research and protect the heritage of Northampton Saints RFU, creating a legacy for years to come.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- To research key members of Northampton Saints Rugby Football Club from the 1950’s and 1960’s, including players, committee and staff members, and supporters
- To use a range of research methods through primary sources (interviews, eyewitness accounts, minutes of meetings, letters, journals, legal documents etc) and secondary sources (books, biographies, second-hand accounts of events, newspapers etc)
- Understanding and adhering to Northampton Saints Foundation Safeguarding Policy and any other relevant policies
YOUR QUALITIES
- No prior experience needed.
- Thoroughness with attention to detail.
- Enthusiasm for and interest in Northampton Saints RFU and / or social history
- Basic IT skills would be ideal to explore differing research techniques.
- An upbeat and positive attitude
HOURS
Various days and hours on site at Northampton Saints Foundation or a nearby location.
TRAINING AND SUPPORT
Full training will be provided on interviewing in line with the Oral History Society’s guidance. Support will be offered by the Heritage and Partnerships Lead. An Enhanced DBS Check will be undertaken before volunteering can commence.
APPLICATION
Please contact [email protected].
Project Finish Date: May 2025
OTHER
Northampton Saints Foundation is an equal opportunities employer and would welcome applications from a fully diverse range of candidates, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability.
Any CV’s, contact details or other personal data shared with Northampton Saints Foundation in relation to this position will be processed for recruitment purposes only. We are storing this data in line with our privacy policy, and any information will only be shared internally as required to undertake shortlisting and interviews with those directly connected to the recruitment process. We would like to keep this data until this position is filled. When that period is over, we will delete your data unless we specifically inform you that we will keep it on file for future roles.
To see a copy of our privacy policy or if you have any queries relating to how we manage personal data, please contact [email protected].
