Community Garden update

   

Over the past year, we’ve been working hard on garden signage. During the spring and summer of 2021 we focussed on producing attractive panels to tell visitors about different aspects of the garden.  We also sourced two lectern style signs for information about the mosaic panels and vertical sculpture.  The panels and lecterns all include QR codes which link to pages on the Heritage Hub website.

 In June 2021, we were awarded external funding for our final pieces of signage- a large entrance sign above the garden’s gate at a height which made it visible from the road, and two moveable A boards. 

     

We’ve positioned one of the A boards to signpost to the garden from both the main entrance and the pedestrian alleyway.  The other A board is in the heart of the garden to promote the community raised beds, garden volunteering opportunities and our “Friends” support group.  

    

Now the signage is complete, we can focus on encouraging as many people as possible to visit and enjoy the beautiful green space.

We were delighted to receive a 5 star review in an accessibility audit in November, along with the rest of the Hub.

To read more visit www.accessglos.co.uk/gloucestershire-heritage-hub/. 

Roots community café included the garden in their October half term treasure hunt and again for a “scavenger hunt” as part of a Christmas event for local families.  We have also been asked to include the community garden on Gloucester’s emerging “local list” which will identify the city’s heritage assets.

Accessions accessions accessions!

If you only have a passing knowledge of what we do at the archives, let me explain it a bit. I’m a trainee archivist, so I’m well placed to break it down as not too long ago, this was all completely new to me too.

Organisations and individuals can deposit records with us for safekeeping, and when this first arrives it is ‘accessioned’. This isn’t the same as cataloguing. Accessioning is like an acknowledgement that we have something, and it’s given a running number. Cataloguing puts the items in a specific collection, breaks it down into sections and gives us more details. Often this is done at the same time as accessioning, but large collections will sometimes be earmarked for a later project.

So it shouldn’t take too long to accession something, right? Well, that question is like ‘how long is a piece of string?’ Sometimes it’s one piece of paper, sometimes it’s 20 boxes. This is why we try to stagger it and have no more than one per day to give the collections management team time to get through it.

At the end of last year we had a challenge on our hands, because of a combination of staff working from home/isolating/a sudden influx of deposits after lockdown. The decision was made to not take any more accessions until 2022. Slowly but surely, we managed to start crossing off accessions one by one.

As a trainee this was both overwhelming and a wonderful opportunity. I love to-do lists but this was something else! You just had to get stuck in. Accessioning itself doesn’t take too long, it’s a bit like writing out a receipt. It’s a very important stage, as it’s when we can collect as many details as we can about a collection, and what copyright or access restrictions might be in place. We look through the material to decide if we want it all, as sometimes people give us things we might already have. We also need to make sure the depositor details are correct. Even if we don’t move onto cataloguing (which we try to anyway) it’s useful to think about where it might go, as we can divide up and package the collection in the simplest way possible. You just need to keep asking the question: ‘How is someone going to be able to find this again?’

Most of the material I’ve accessioned and catalogued in that time have been marriage registers. On 4 May 2021 the law was changed so that future marriage registers become digitally made, and hard copies were closed and handed into registry offices. Many copies of these came to us, and I’ve personally accessioned 52 of these. It sounds like a lot but 52 of the same type of document becomes a very repetitive process, and I managed to speed things up to spending 20 minutes per register!

Other times something completely random ends up on my desk. One in particular I enjoyed was D15821, which was sent to us by Buckingham Palace! This was the papers of Helmut Gieselmann, a prisoner of war in Britain during the second world war, with a letter asking for his release to return to work in Cheltenham. The papers were sent by his son who wanted them to be in a British collection to illustrate British-German relations.

In January 2022 we came back with a hugely reduced list so were able to start taking in new accessions again. Bring on the exciting finds of 2022!

Laura Cassidy, Trainee Archivist at Gloucestershire Archives

Cotswold Life October

Each month the team at Gloucestershire Archives delve into our diverse collections and put together a piece that appears in Cotswold Life magazine. This article, written by John Putley, appeared in the October 2021 issue. 

Photograph of the Month

Gloucestershire Archives GPS/368/149

You can almost hear the cacophony of sounds, feel the heat and smell the coal smoke in this wonderful picture of the traction engine ‘The Duchess of Worcester’ at the Winchcombe Mop Fair sometime after 1901.  The people include the owner Mr Peters, who may be the man on the left with the blackened hands (or he might be the fireman!).  The ‘Duchess’ was built by Charles Burrell & Sons of Thetford, Norfolk in 1900 and was a Showman’s Road Locomotive (No. 2350).  These were made for travelling showmen who operated roundabouts and other fairground rides.  They were typified by a full length canopy with twisted brass supports and bright painted bodywork that was usually personalised – as can be seen here with the legend ‘F. Peters & Son Galloping Horses’ visible on the canopy.  The engines were practical dual-purpose machines that hauled dismantled rides in wagons from fair to fair and also generated electricity to light and drive the rides (via a belt-driven dynamo visible at the front).  Sadly, this particular engine hasn’t survived but the next one in sequence, No. 2351 ‘Ephraim’, does and can be seen regularly at county steam fairs. 

Heritage Hub Honey and Candles

In July 2021, the Bee Team were finally able to extract the first lot of honey from the beehives in the community garden. As we didn’t yet have equipment, we went to a beekeeper friend in Tuffley with the frames of honey and extracted it there. From the first batch we got 28 pounds of honey, which was a wonderful surprise.

By October, we had our own equipment and so we were able to extract our own honey on site, which was very exciting. We set up the equipment in the staff room, put our masks on and spent a fun afternoon manually spinning our frames and getting a good workout! This batch gave us another 8 pounds of honey, which was a real bonus. Towards the end of the season, it’s best to leave the bees with as much honey as possible over winter, but we decided we had enough surplus on one of our hives to take some of their honey.

      

We’ve been able to sell most of both batches to colleagues and friends, but we hope that the bees survive the winter (at the time of writing it’s very cold, but they should be huddled together with enough food to keep them going through the next few weeks) and we can then get a spring harvest from them once they start foraging again. We plan to sell this honey properly so look out for it on reception!

We’ve also been experimenting with other things to make from the bees. Head of Archives Service Heather brought in a huge amount of beeswax from her father who used to be a beekeeper, and in preparation for using our own beeswax (as yet we don’t have enough surplus) I’ve been working out how to make candles and another colleague has made some beeswax food wraps. We hope to also sell craft products made with the wax in due course too.

Have You Heard About Vicarious Trauma?

The answer is quite probably no, although it is being increasingly talked about, and is something that archives services are becoming more aware of. Also known as “secondary trauma”, it has the potential to be experienced by many of us.

Secondary trauma is a recognised occupational hazard for police officers, paramedics, rescue workers and counsellors. It defines the process by which indirect exposure to disturbing or horrific events, often affecting loss of life, impacts on those who may be required to deal with the aftermath of, for example, a civil war, a terrorist attack or a natural disaster. Of course, these occupations are probably even more likely to be subject to primary trauma, whereby they are directly involved in dealing with casualties, civil war, earthquakes or loss of life from some other cause.  

For example, soldiers from regiments serving in Europe, at the end of World War II, could be excused from volunteering in the reconnaissance parties of Allied troops that entered Nazi concentration camps, in order to liberate them, for this very reason.   

So what, exactly, is vicarious trauma, and how do we deal with it? In terms of archives, vicarious trauma can come about because of reading through coroner’s reports, victim statements, records of historic childhood abuse, records of atrocities and similar material. It defines the unwanted, intrusive and distressing emotional impact of having seen, or heard, extremely upsetting accounts of people’s experiences, often at the hands of others.

It is the extreme nature of vicarious trauma that really defines it – it is not about feeling sad, or a little disturbed; it is about being affected, on a deeply emotional level, by what you have been researching. It may be cumulative, or it may be a one-off, and it is something that archives’ users may well mention to us, although this is a rare occurrence.

One very obvious example of vicarious trauma is when archives researchers may be looking at records about the way people were treated in the past. It can become very real, and very emotional, if you happen to be looking at records of your ancestors, and their treatment in the past, in whatever institution they were incarcerated. We all know, for example, that the individuals who participate in the TV programme “Who Do You Think You Are?” are frequently tearful, having unearthed stories of the hardships their ancestors experienced. This is not really what we would describe as vicarious trauma, but a common, human, reflection rooted in empathy.

Vicarious trauma really is something far more than this, and needs to be handled with skill and sensitivity. If this affects you, at any time, you can see some very useful FAQ’s we’ve written, on our website at: www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/starting-your-research/what-can-i-see/vicarious-trauma-faq-s/

Behind the scenes at Gloucestershire Archives

It is possible that you have joined us in viewing some of our monthly online events. These include – Secrets Revealed, leisurely lunchtime learning sessions for adults and Passport to the Past, an after-school club for children aged 6 -13 years.

Passport to the Past is a live session filmed from the Frith Room at the Heritage Hub. We thought you might be interested to see what happens behind the scenes to prepare for these live monthly children’s events

Jemma Fowkes and Kate O’Keefe are the faces that the young people usually see on their screen but Jemma and Kate also have lots of help from other staff members in particular Jenny Rutland who provides technical support.

Jemma, Kate and Jenny ready for action.

Other staff members get involved too when extra specialist help is needed

   

John Putley and Ally McConnell lend a hand during the ‘Bugs, Bees and Books’ session talking about being bee keepers. Ally is suitable dressed in her bee keeper’s outfit.

  

Rhianna Watson is getting ready to make the origami toy for ‘The Best Toy in the World?’ session. Jenny is making sure the tech works.

The image on the screen is of Rhianna’s hands and is what viewers see.

   

Dolls, teddy’s and games belonging to one of our lovely volunteers brought in for the team to use during the same session.

Other organisations also provide support. The hare used for the drawing task in ‘The Worst Journey in the World’ session was kindly lent to the team by The Wilson Museum and Art Gallery.

These photos represent what happens on the day of filming but of course before the day Kate and Jemma will have done lots of research, had meetings together, picked the brains of volunteers and staff for their knowledge and written their script. The marketing team will have advertised the events, on social media, through the Heritage Hub website and the e-newsletter. And then there is managing all of the bookings, sending out zoom links and making sure customers know what to expect. Finally, we try to evaluate the sessions so that we can develop and improve what we are doing. All in all, I think you will agree lots goes on behind the scenes to make what are hopefully enjoyable, informative and fun sessions for the young people who take part.

For information about events that are coming up visit Gloucestershire Archives 

Farewell to James Hodsdon

We were very sad to hear of the unexpected death of Dr James Hodsdon last Thursday morning.

　

James was a regular visitor to Gloucestershire Archives over many years, former chair of the Friends of Gloucestershire Archives, a key member of the fundraising group raising significant funds for the ‘For the Record’ archives transformation project, notable local historian, and very dedicated and generous volunteer to many Gloucestershire heritage organisations, most notably Gloucestershire County History Trust. He devoted significant time and energy into fundraising, overseeing the work of freelance researchers and generally ensuring Gloucestershire Victoria County History work goes from strength to strength. He was a very wise, kind, generous gentleman (in the true sense of the word), whose diplomatic skills were an inspiration to many of us. I personally learnt a tremendous amount from him in so many ways and will always be grateful for that.　

His contribution to archives and local history in Gloucestershire has been enormous, and he will be very much missed both for this and his warm personality and friendship.　 　We will publish a full tribute in our next newsletter. Meanwhile we extend our sincere condolences to his wife Judie and his family.　

Heather Forbes, County Archivist.

Community Gatherers Project

Our “Community Gatherers” project takes an innovative approach to strengthening our collections from Gloucester’s black and Asian communities and is supported by the National Archives “testbed” fund.  We’ve commissioned eight “Community Gatherers” from within the communities themselves.  Their mission:  to locate- or create- material for permanent preservation in the Archives, to ensure their voices are heard by future generations.   Two of our Gatherers are established film-makers; the others have chosen to record oral history interviews on a variety of topics, ranging from weddings to allotments.   

This is a new venture and we’re learning a lot along the way, but our first interview is now safely accessioned, with more to come.  

For more information contact kate.maisey@gloucestershire.gov.uk 

Sally Middleton is retiring

Sally joined Gloucestershire Archives in October 2016 as part of the ‘For the Record’ archives transformation project.  She has certainly helped us transform our partnerships, learning and outreach offer.   We will particularly miss her positive approach, management and coaching skills, and her fresh perspective arising from her background in social work and libraries, but will do our best to build on her legacy.

Sally led the Archives in achieving the Archives and Records Association Volunteering Award in 2019.  During her time our volunteer base has grown significantly and she has worked hard to break down barriers to participation.  She has been particularly supportive in her coaching approach with young and disadvantaged volunteers.  She was especially delighted when one of the volunteers she had supported was offered a place at Cambridge University to study history.

Her commitment to Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) has led to some great results including the use of the Dunrossil Centre for English as a second language classes for local parents- leading to a Nigerian asylum seeker to become an archives volunteer.  

Other highlights include her collaborative work on mental health records resulting in the Never Better project which featured at Gloucester History Festival and gave opportunities to several folk with lived mental health experience.  Various other health projects are currently in preparation to build on these helpful relationships. 

She has also demonstrated tremendous commitment to young people as demonstrated by the growing relationship with Kingsholm Primary School through the ‘we love KingsHOME’ days, child ‘take over’ days, and oral history training for a small group of their year 6 pupils as part of their ‘university’ module.   She asked a large class of 7 year olds ‘do you want to have fun?’ ‘Yes, I can’t hear you, do you want to have fun?’ ‘YESSSS! (at the tops of their voices).  Only Sally could do that convincingly.  Sadly we’ve not been able to find funding for her hoped-for ‘young people’s archivist’ but will keep trying.  Her cameo appearance as a cook in the passport to the past session for children based on our county estate archives will be remembered by colleagues for a long time.  If you missed this, you can see this by clicking on this link!

Sally as Mrs Bullas, the cook in Passport to the Past: Stories from the Big House

Sally is a great collaborator as demonstrated by her work with Gloucester Heritage Forum, health contacts, community groups and so on.   As such, the covid lockdowns were unhelpful in delivering her day job.  But she led her team to deliver a new programme of learning and outreach, making the challenging shift to online delivery.  

When asked to sum up Sally, the following phrases come to mind:  ebullient, full of enthusiasm and positive energy, optimistic, forward-looking, egalitarian, very supportive, generous with praise, strategic, able to be direct, and as one colleague said, she has a relish for things – she can make a cup of coffee sound the most alluring thing!    Her catch-phrase was ‘treat each day as an adventure’ which is a very good motto for living a fulfilling life.   I hope you will take your own advice Sally when enjoying a happy and fulfilling retirement. 

Heather Forbes and Kate Maisey

History, Her Story,Their Story, Our Story and Barbers Street at the Museum of Gloucester

As reported in an earlier newsletter, Gloucestershire Archives co-produced this programme with Fresh Air Foundations.  It was generously funded by Arts Council England.

They led to an extraordinary and powerful event at the Guildhall during this year's Gloucester History Festival, where Gloucester artists Thembe Mvula and Rider Shafique shared new works inspired by Vanley Burke's photography; Elle Bry Thomas shared ‘Barber Street - One street, 14 barbershops, many nationalities’ and Pierre Nyongera shared ‘‘Old School’ a short film which looks at the history of Colwell School in Barton & Tredworth 

 

An artwork celebrating the project by Jusarra Navare was installed on Barton street for the duration of the History Festival, and then all artworks, films and stories and poetry inspired by the project by young people from Denmark Road High School Sir Thomas Riches and St Peter’s were exhibited at the Museum of Gloucester.

A strong outreach and education programme complemented the exhibition, with events including:

Legacies of Documentation- Taking positives from negatives - Representation and Storytelling in Photography

Schools Event - by young people for young people

“Enough of ‘we’ve come so far’ and ‘it’s much better now than it was then’. Performative activism won’t get us anywhere, enough of the white, white lies'

New material generated during this project will become part of the Gloucestershire Archives collections shortly and thus be accessible to current and future generations. 

For more information contact Jacqui Grange jacqui@cityvoices.org.uk