From humble beginning of a few like-minded individuals actually writing down only what they observed in the build up to World War II, Mass-Observation has grown into an large archive of materials covering 1937-1965 and 1981 onwards.

The foundations

Three young men - Harrison, Madge and Jennings - are credited with establishing Mass-Observation.

They started two activities to gather material. Firstly, paying investigators to attend a variety of public events (such as religious occassions, sports activities and meetings) and record people's behaviour and what was said in as much detail as possible. Secondly, recruiting volunteers for a national panel to keep journals and respond to regular, open-ended questionnaires.

What makes it special?

Specialises in the ordinary day-to-day life that is otherwise not captured¹.

The archive today

In 1970 the archive was transferred to the University of Sussex and it is now housed in the Special Collections Library.

About 400 people currently write for the project.

The archive has been recognised as having outstangin national and international importance and has been "Designated as an Outstanding Collection" by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council designation scheme.