Meet the Passions Team

Professor Melanie Tebbutt: Principal Investigator – Melanie specialises in the history of youth in the 19th and 20th centuries. Her research interests include working-class women, communities and cultures, families and social networks, and gender, leisure and the history of youth in modern Britain. Her book, Being Boys: Youth, Leisure and Identity in the Inter-war Years (Manchester University Press, 2012: paperback 2014), which explored the masculinities of working- class boys and young men through their leisure activities, was the inspiration for the Passions of Youth.

Dr Rebecca Andrew: Co-Investigator – Rebecca completed her PhD, The Leisure Identities of Rural Youth: Tradition, Change and Sense of Place in Lakeland, 1930-early 1950s, at Manchester Metropolitan University. She is a Lecturer in Historic Landscapes and Environments at the University of Chester.

Sue Reddish: Creative Lead – Sue is a freelance theatre maker, digital storyteller and arts consultant, who has considerable experience of initiating and delivering both large-scale projects and bespoke facilitation.

Jim Daziel: Jim is a community film maker.

Claire Turner: Project Manager – Claire was Chief Executive of Manchester Histories, the charity that delivers Manchester Histories Festival. She has over 20 years’ experience of working in the cultural, tourism and charity sectors, establishing charitable organisations, initiating and programming major events, developing community arts projects and providing consultancy for a range of organisations.

Dr. Fiona CossonResearch Associate – Fiona is a social and oral historian with particular interests in community history and in histories of communities. She is a Senior Lecturer in Modern History at Bournemouth University.