“The batteries had done that weird thing where they go all salty, but I took them out, scraped the contacts clean, put in new batteries – and my kids heard my mum’s voice for the first time,” he told The News.
“Get up, Edward!” his mother’s firm voice calls.
The alarm clock was a gift from Morrish’s mother, who gave it to him when he went to university in 1998.
“You could record your own alarm, so I told her to record it,” tweeted Morrish, who is an audio and comedy producer.
“I’ve just found it, and it still works. She died in 2006, and this is the only recording of her voice that I have.”
The alarm clock accompanied Morrish through university, two years in London, eight years in Harrow, and a decade in Hampshire.
He only ceased using it when he moved in with his now wife.
On their first hearing, his family were “stunned” to hear her voice so clearly.
“My children have now been able to hear their grandmother’s voice, which they haven’t been able to do before, because both my parents died before they were born,” Morrish told the BBC.
The voices of our loved ones are closely intertwined with our memories and emotions, so hearing the voice of a parent who has died could be overwhelming.
When I went to university in 1998, my mother gave me an alarm clock where you could record your own alarm, so I told her to record it. I’ve just found it, and it still works. She died in 2006, and this is the only recording of her voice that I have. pic.twitter.com/9FSYF8q4FS
— Ed Morrish (@edmorrish) May 30, 2021
“That was her teacher voice, that wasn’t the voice she used at home.
“It was very funny, but also it’s a reminder that there was a time before everything got recorded and filmed.”
In a touching twist, the investor of the ‘WakeYoo’ alarm clock saw Morrish’s post and was so moved he reached out.
“Oh my!” he wrote. “This is amazing Ed. This was my first invention, WakeYoo. I’m so moved to hear this and hope you are well.”
This story has also touched me, reminding me there was a period of a few months after my father died when I could ring his work phone number and hear his voicemail message. Hearing his voice, from beyond the grave, was both moving and consoling.
Voices echoing down through history, still affecting those who can listen.
Have you ever heard a voice from the past that has triggered an emotional response? Share your stories in the comments below.
