The Tinker Experiment

The Tinker Experiment lasted from 1940 until 1980 and was a programme designed to integrate Scottish Travellers into mainstream Scottish society through forced settlement in substandard buildings. It was supported by the UK government, the Church of Scotland and Scottish local authorities. Nomadic families risked having their children taken into care if they didn’t attend school regularly. 

The Tinker Experiment

The BBC Radio 4 programme History on the Edge interviews residents of Bobbin Mill near Pitlochry where, in 1946, the McPhee family and other Gypsy Travellers were moved into an old wartime hut converted for four families. The accommodation was small and overcrowded for the nine McPhee children and their parents, and was without amenities such as electricity. There was also asbestos in the walls which wasn’t removed until the 1980s. 

At Bobbin Mill, Anita meets Shamus McPhee and three of his sisters who still live on the site. Old holiday chalets have in recent years replaced the hutted accommodation and they now have electricity and running water. Yet the family still suffer hardship and discrimination despite having been to university and contributed to society. Prejudice against Gypsy Travellers runs so deep among the settled community that they’ve found it difficult to get work if they reveal their background. And – having fallen between the settled and the nomadic ways of life – none of them has found a life partner or had children.

The McPhees are now seeking an apology from the Scottish Government as they feel their lives have been blighted by the Tinker Experiment. 

Heritage Crafts Red List Resources

Imogen Bright Moon’s presentation to the Education Network

The three new entries for GRTSB specifically are here; 

Fairground Art https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/fairground-art/

Canal Art + Barge Painting https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/canal-art-and-barge-painting/

Vardo + Living Waggon Crafts https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/vardo-art-and-living-waggon-crafts/

Plus additional amendments to;

Tinsmithing https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/tinsmithing/

Horn + Antler Working https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/horn-working/

All the links are on this main page at Heritage Crafts here; 

heritagecrafts.org.uk

You can get downloadable PDF of the 2023 Red List launch publication here. 

* One craft that needs further research is GRTSB Floristry, which will include wooden flowers, wax flowers and paper flowers, as well as traditional wreath-making. *

Please contact me if I can be of any help, imogenbrightmoon@gmail.com

Norfolk Gypsy, Roma and Traveller resource QR codes and links

Padlet is an online bulletin board, but with a lot of things a regular bulletin board could never do. Users can post text, images, videos, files, links … basically anything digital.

One of the best things about Padlet for teachers is how very easy it is to use, even for young students. It works on computers and laptops, plus devices like Chromebooks, iPads, or smartphones. 

Community researchers provide powerful evidence of discrimination

The largest number of Roma, Gypsy and Traveller participants in any national survey to date were reached by six Roma and Traveller researchers being employed and trained in research techniques to go out and record responses from community members.

The figures were recorded as part of the Evidence for Equality National Survey (Evens) of ethnic and religious minorities.

Prof Nissa Finney, who led the project, said: “Evens allows us to compare the pandemic experiences of Roma and Traveller people to other ethnic groups, which hasn’t been possible before now. The disadvantage that we’ve found with the data is striking.

“Rigorous, robust, reliable data like that in Evens is essential for designing appropriate and effective policies and interventions. There’s still work to do to improve data and data collection – marginalised communities can be mistrustful of research and of its ability to bring change.

“A clear message from our study is the need for political commitment to better monitoring and measurement of the full range of ethnic groups. This is how we’ll make visible in evidence and policy those people who have been invisible.”

The study was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and undertaken by the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity, in collaboration with community groups and charities.