A recording of the Heritage Horizon webinar given on 15th October 2025. The recording will be available to view until 15th November 2026.

This webinar discusses how as an approach to difficult heritage, the IBCC Digital Archive’s ethos of remembrance, recognition, and reconciliation led to the comprehensive way in which items are catalogued and described in the archive. In keeping with these values, the IBCC Digital Archive focuses on people’s stories of the bombing war in Europe (1939-1945), from multiple perspectives: on the ground and in the air, military and civilian, and on both sides of the conflict. The IBCC Digital Archive consists of more than 40,000 documents in 2,500 collections. Content includes interviews with eyewitnesses, personal papers, photographs, and memorabilia.

About the speaker

Dan Ellin is the archivist for the International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive housed at the University of Lincoln. A Social and Cultural historian, he became interested in Bomber Command after working in a warehouse that used to be an aircraft hangar. His research examines the lives and emotions of the men and women who served in the RAF during the Second World War, and how the bombing war is remembered.

Historic interiors are more than just rooms filled with old furniture – they are rich, layered narratives of human life, culture, and identity. This webinar will explore how we can ‘read’ interiors as ‘material histories’, using them to interpret the lives, values, and experiences of those who inhabited them. Drawing on examples from a range of properties, we’ll examine how interiors were curated by their owners, how they evolve over time, and how they reflect broader social and historical contexts. We’ll also explore the different types of evidence that can help us reconstruct these stories, and how lenses for interpretation can deepen our understanding. By the end, you’ll see how walls really can talk – if you know how to listen.

About the speaker

Dr Leah Warriner-Wood is Senior Lecturer in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage and Programme Leader at the University of Lincoln. Her research explores the layered histories of interior spaces, combining conservation practice with the principles of material culture studies to uncover the stories embedded in historic environments and objects. She has worked with a range of sites, including Doddington Hall and Belton House, and regularly collaborates with Lincoln Conservation. Alongside her teaching, Leah is committed to public engagement, helping wider audiences connect with the past through the material traces of everyday life.