The Lost World of Leslie Edwards
Sign language has no written form, and being a physical language of gestures, it wasn't easy to document in days gone by. So for centuries, deaf history remained hidden, glimpsed through obscure writings mostly from hearing observers. Much of our history has, therefore, been lost. But in the 20th century, the invention of film created a unique opportunity for sign language to be preserved and for the lives of deaf people to be recorded.
In 2004, a box of film reels was discovered in an empty house that was being cleared out for renovation. No-one knew what footage the reels contained, so the builder took them home out of curiosity. It was only later that someone noticed the name BDDA on them and realised that it stood for the British Deaf and Dumb Association - the previous name of the British Deaf Association (BDA).
See Hear offered to digitally restore the film, and as each reel was painstakingly converted, a lost deaf world of the 1930s was revealed. The films contain footage of special occasions like weddings, sports events and daytrips - occasions filled with ordinary deaf people - a very unusual and rare find.
It has emerged that the person behind the camera - and often in front of it - was Leslie Edwards.
View the videos!
BDDA Congresses
Ordinary deaf life
Missioners
Day outings
Sports
Scouts and Rangers
Winnie Gilbert
Fingerspelling Challenge
Who was Leslie Edwards?
The BDDA Film Library
The Lost World of Leslie Edwards was shown on BBC2 at noon on Saturday 17 March and will be repeated on BBC1 at 2.15am on Tuesday 20 March.
