FOR more than 60 years, journalist and author Bill Mitchell interviewed people across the Dales.

His subjects came from all walks of life - from Alf Wight, author of the James Herriot books, to working farriers and "in-between" maids.

Most interviews were recorded on tape and carefully stored.

In total, Bill, who lives in Giggleswick, amassed a priceless collection of 600 audio interviews, 50 videos and 15,000 photographs, giving a unique insight into Dales life from a bygone era and capturing different accents and dialects rarely heard today.

But the recordings are physically deteriorating and won't last another generation.

In 2012, Bill asked Settle Stories whether it could help and, without hesitation, it said yes.

The group - which runs Settle Storytelling Festival - secured a £50,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and, in January 2013, the WR Mitchell Archive Project was launched.

Since then, 16 tapes have been digitised, catalogued and archived and the online recordings are available to a new generation, who can not only read about local history but can hear it too.

The archive has proved a huge success, being visited by more than 1,000 people each month. It is seen as a valuable learning resource by individuals, universities, schools and community groups alike.

But the project is far from finished. There are still more than 50 tapes to transcribe and, to complete the task, the project needs another £100,000.

Settle Stories director Sita Brand said: "We must save them. These old audio tapes are stretching and deteriorating. Each day that goes by exposes them to further damage. Soon the tapes will be lost forever, taking with them irreplaceable stories.

"We constantly hear in the media about urban life, but we hear very little about what's happening in rural communities. Rural life is changing and a lot of traditions are disappearing or have already disappeared. Bill's tapes and photographs capture a lot of this old way of life. If we don't save them, they will be lost forever so it's critical that we act now."

Settle Stories has already launched a Save Our Stories Appeal and is putting together a further bid for Heritage Lottery funding.

"We have had a fantastic response from the people of Settle," said Settle Stories communications and events manager Charles Tyrer. "They realise the importance of the archive to the community. We hope people across the wider Craven area will be as supportive.

"The tapes capture life as it was in the Dales, from ordinary working people to gentry and Yorkshire legends. If we do nothing, we will have lost a lot of heritage pertaining to Yorkshire."

Money has been promised by Settle Town Council, Long Preston Parish Council, Craven Trust and Settle Rotary Club and it will be used to fund a touring exhibition of images from the archive.

"It is wonderful to look back at some of the images and interviews," said Bill, who started as a reporter on the Craven Herald in 1943.

However his journalism career was halted for two years when he served with the Royal Navy. On being demobbed, he returned to the Herald and in 1948, was invited to join the The Dalesman magazine, then based in Clapham.

He stayed there until his retirement, 40 years later, and for many years single-handedly edited The Dalesman and its companion magazine, Cumbria, covering an area from Solway Firth to the Humber.

His work was recognised in 1996 with an MBE from the Queen and an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Bradford. In 2009, he was named Yorkshire Dales National Park's greatest living cultural icon.

Bill, who still contributes to the Craven Herald's history pages, said: "Right from the start of my career, I was told to put people before things and I have done that ever since."

Now aged 87, he is still keen to share his stories.

"History has always been thought of as battles, but it's just as important to record the everyday lives of ordinary people," he added. "If you go through life thinking just about what you are doing at the moment, you lead a very limited life."

As well as financial support, Settle Stories is appealing for volunteers to help with research, background information and fundraising.

For more information, visit wrmitchellarchive.org.uk