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Posts tagged 'records'

9
Tue Apr
2013

Trainee Tuesday: Goodbye from the Opening up Archives trainees

Posted by Kate Sutton in Behind the scenes, Records and research

Over the last year the other Opening Up Archives trainees and I have blogged on everything from Richard III and ice cream to medieval archives and LGBT history month. We’ve created a Polish Community Project, apps, trained archivists on the digital preservation process, and one of us even ventured outside to an archaeology dig. As our traineeships are coming to an end we’ve picked some highlights and interesting archives for one last blog post.

 

Julie Thomson – Leicester and Rutland Archives

Women’s Legion, Land Army, and factory and munitions workers

Women’s Legion, Land Army, and factory and munitions workers

It’s been a busy, slightly wacky, but overall rewarding year of digital preservation training! The best part is that I was able to throw myself into the day-to-day functioning of my host Record Office in a really hands-on way, and at the end of it all feel like I’d made a significant contribution to preserving its holdings. I also hope my work (both digitising large numbers of items and helping to create an accessible, commercially viable online image library) will ultimately generate some real revenue for the Record Office, as well as promoting local heritage to a global audience. I’ve genuinely enjoyed learning about my colleague Kasia McCabe’s Polish Community Project too. Archives are definitely looking like a viable career path, especially with regard to digital technology.

Personal favourite archive item? That is a tough one. We’ve had Richard III material, Isaac Newton’s property rolls, and a lot of interesting medieval documents. But the photography collections are especially rich, and dealt with exciting material from throughout the 20th century. One of my most abiding interests is the role of women on the home front during the First and Second World Wars. I’ve cheated and made a collage because there are too many good ones!

 

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3
Wed Apr
2013
8

Friendly aliens in our fighting forces

Posted by Chris Barnes in Records and research

Medal roll of Samuel Ostroi

In October 1917 Russia withdrew from the First World War. One consequence of this withdrawal that you may not be aware of is that Russian nationals living in Britain suddenly became eligible to serve in the British Army.

Throughout 1915 there had been what was referred to as the ‘Conscription Crisis’. Too few men were enlisting in the forces to meet the needs of the industrial, mechanical nature of the First World War. In January of 1916 conscription was brought into force to meet the demand for men.

On 14 April 1916 the Home Secretary, Herbert Samuel, sought an amendment to Section 95 of the Army Act which imposed limitations on the enlistment of foreigners into the Army. He was hoping to encourage more aliens to join the British forces, or at least the territorial force. It was decided that foreign nationals who wished to join the British forces could do so as long as no more than 2% of the fighting force was made up of aliens. 1

The exception to this rule related to nationals of Allied countries. There was an agreement in place that all French, Belgian and Russian subjects living in the UK who desired to fight in the War should be compelled to return to their own country to join their respective armies. Since Russia was no longer a belligerent after October 1917 the government felt that this agreement no longer applied. Mr Samuel especially considered it unfair that Russian shopkeepers should remain exempt from service, profiting from the absence of British shopkeepers who were serving in the Army.

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Notes:

  1. 1. For a discussion about the enlistment of aliens into the British Army see file WO 32/4773. ^
22
Fri Mar
2013
1

Dastardly Digital Dilemmas: 6) Heresy

Posted by Mark Merifield in Managing information

OK, let’s get it out there.

I don’t want to manage information.

I really don’t.

And I’m sure many of you out there will agree with me.

I support government in managing information and ensuring the historical record, so I’m an information creator and user and an information professional. I exist in a world of perpetual contradiction…

I’m busy. I spend my days creating, processing, using, sharing, storing and talking information. My team has a way of working, a shared space to capture our work, and delivery channels through which to share it. I know what we’re working on, where it is and what it means to us. It works. For us. Sometimes I want to work on the move, drafting blog posts like this on a mobile device on a train. Sometimes I want remote access to our network so I can access the information my team are working on.

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8
Fri Mar
2013
4

The bombing of the Café de Paris

Posted by Andrew Janes in Records and research
Plan of the Café de Paris, showing the effects of the bombing (reference: HO 193/68). The plan is shown laid out with weights to keep it flat.

Plan of the Café de Paris, showing the effects of the bombing (reference: HO 193/68). The plan is shown laid out with weights to keep it flat.

Seventy-two years ago, on Saturday 8 March 1941, the Café de Paris, a London nightclub and restaurant was bombed during the Blitz. A 50 kg high-explosive bomb hit the building, on Coventry Street, at about 21.45. At least 34 people died and dozens more were seriously injured. 1 Continue reading »

Notes:

  1. 1. The National Archives HO 193/25, City of Westminster District, 8/9 March 1941, entry number 5; Westminster City Archives CD/2/5, entry number 1213. ^
7
Thu Mar
2013
4

Rock of ages: Gibraltar through a lens

Posted by Tommy Norton in Records and research

Today it’s the turn of the small British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar to get the ‘through a lens’ treatment. If you’ve missed previous editions, The National Archives has been gradually releasing the contents of the Colonial Office Library’s photographic collection onto Flickr over the past two years. Our hope is that the people living there today will be able to tell us a bit more about the pictures and what they depict.

Almost 200 photos of Gibraltar, from the 19th century to the middle of the 20th, have gone online today, including rare colour photographs from the turn of the century.

Panoramic View of the Rock from the Commercial Mole (top), Gibraltar 1904 (catalogue ref: CO 1069/710)

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1
Fri Mar
2013
2

‘Cardinals by candlelight’: British diplomats and the Vatican

Posted by Tommy Norton in Records and research

I imagine the past couple of weeks have been pretty busy for the British Embassy to the Holy See, but they probably have nothing on 1978, otherwise known as the Year of Three Popes.

Pope Benedict XVI’s recent decision to step down as leader of the Roman Catholic Church – the first pope to abdicate in almost six centuries – opens the way for the unusual situation of two popes living in the Vatican at the same time.

In 1978, in the space of three tumultuous months between August and October, the Roman Catholic Church had no less than three different leaders: Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul I and Pope John Paul II. I’ve been looking back through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) files from the period to see how British officials at the legation (as it was then) in Rome dealt with the fast-changing situation.

Poland's Cardinal Wojtyla became the third pope of 1978. (catalogue ref: FCO 33/3787)

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22
Fri Feb
2013
6

Documenting LGBT history across the UK

Posted by Melinda Haunton in Behind the scenes, Records and research

Collecting, reflecting

a dense colourful picture of many badges bearing varied gay rights slogans

Just a selection of the campaign badges held by the Lesbian and Gay Newsmedia Archive (with thanks to Bishopsgate Institute for the image)

We’re now well into LGBT history month, celebrated by The National Archives and many other heritage organisations and communities across the country. It seems like a good moment to reflect on how LGBT archives appear in the historical record, without which LGBT history month couldn’t exist.

Older records can be really problematic for studying LGBT history, and seem almost to conspire to hide histories rather than to reveal. Where a community was of necessity trying to avoid the eye of the authorities, there’s relatively little in the official records, and when it does exist, it’s often a negative portrayal. Jenni’s blog earlier in the month outlined what The National Archives is trying to do about that, revealing hidden histories and bringing together information on LGBT records so that it is easier to find. Continue reading »

11
Mon Feb
2013

You have two cows

Posted by Andrew Janes in Records and research
The indictment of Alice Sparke, who was put on trial for witchcraft on 23 March 1576. Document reference: ASSI 35/18/5 m 18.

The indictment of Alice Sparke, who was put on trial for witchcraft on 23 March 1576. Document reference: ASSI 35/18/5 m 18.

You live in a village in 16th century England and you keep two cows. Sadly, your cows are not thriving and you are concerned for their welfare. Do you:

a)    Change their diet?
b)    Treat them with leeches?
c)    Kill them, sell the meat and use the profit to buy better cows?
d)    Accuse someone of bewitching them?

John Harvy, from Buntingford in Hertfordshire, chose option d. He accused a woman named Alice Sparke of being an ‘enchantress and witch’. Alice denied the accusation and was put on trial for witchcraft at the assizes in Hertford on 23 March 1576. Continue reading »

29
Tue Jan
2013

Trainee Tuesday: Anyone for ice cream?

Posted by Amy Gee in Records and research

Ice cream may not be all that appealing at the moment, given the recent snowy weather. It’s a time when most of us just want to wrap up warm and eat comforting stews and soups. I, however, have spent a week rummaging through boxes of material from the Lyon’s collection at London Metropolitan Archive (LMA).

Result: Now ice-cream is all I can think about…

Lyons Ice Cream Van

'Lyons Ice Cream Van' from the Lyons Maid Collection at LMA

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