For the past couple of weeks, University of Reading History students Katie and Megan have been interning at the Mills Archive Trust. This is what they have to say about their time spent at the Trust:

We’ve had a lot of fun interning at the Mills Archive Trust. The great thing about our time here has been that we’ve always been up to something different. However, our main project was to create a secondary school friendly debate pack on renewable energy, arguing the advantages and disadvantages of wind and water energy as if it were set in the 1970s. We found this process both enjoyable yet challenging. It was really fun scouring through the diverse set of materials that the Mills Archive’s library has in its collection, turning over every pamphlet and Wind Power Digest.

Additionally, discovering the attitudes towards renewable energy in the 1970s, and seeing how far Britain had come was equally as interesting. The research started smoothly in this regard, as the advantages and disadvantages of wind and water energy were moderately easy to find within the materials. Yet, organising the information into a conversational debate proved to be rather difficult and time consuming. We soon found that trying to sound natural, and not like we were just reading from a list of points, was incredibly tricky.

Despite these challenges, we found this project very rewarding, and have attained an array of new skills. We dove head first into an area of history we had never interacted with before, and have come out the other side with more knowledge on renewable energy than ever before!

In addition to our main project, we have been involved in creating a plethora of resources for the Mills Archive Trust. Most notably, we interviewed wind energy expert Peter Musgrove. Peter used to work in the engineering department at the University of Reading, and has been greatly involved in wind energy since the 1970s. We asked him about his involvement in wind power, and how the renewable energy sector evolved over the last 50 years. It was really interesting to hear whether his predictions from the 1970s came true, and whether he has any new predictions for the next 50 years. Overall, the interview went very well, and we were very fortunate for Peter to visit and share his thoughts with us.

Our time at the Mills Archive Trust has been thoroughly enjoyable. We’ve had fun creating the educational pack and engaging with the materials here at the Mills Archive, transforming it into different forms of media. The staff at the Trust have all been very friendly and helpful, making this experience even more of a delight! Working in an Archive has been particularly fascinating, especially one which is a charity, which is quite unusual for an archive. Most importantly, we have developed a newfound respect and interest for the world of milling and renewable energy. We are excited to take these valuable experiences with us after our placement comes to a close.

Thanks to the Mills Archive for giving us permission to share this post, which originally appeared in their newsletter on 18/12/23.

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