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General => Armed Forces => Topic started by: CaroleW on Saturday 15 April 17 22:41 BST (UK)
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A friend was recently widowed and in conversation she mentioned that her husband had a number of albums of photos he had taken of ?? war graves around the country. He also had a collection of books "all things war" as she put it.
She travelled a lot for her work and he accompanied her. He would then go off to whatever cemetery was in the area and spend time taking photos.
She doesn't know what to do with the albums/books but has no desire to keep them as they have no interest for her.
I haven't actually seen any of the albums or books so am unsure of the exact nature of the photos but as his interest was in the war - I am pretty sure the photos would only be of war graves
If anybody has any ideas or interest - could you pm me and I will ask her for further details
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Carole,
It may be an idea to state which area of the country these are in to give people an idea in case anyone is interested regarding a pick-up point or even postage?
Annie
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Hi Carol :) it would be a lovely project for someone who was interested, to do research into the people in the war graves.
As Annie has said, it may be useful to state the areas in which the photographs were taken.
At the moment (just for my own interest) I am researching local lads from my town who died in the first world war.
Frank :)
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As far as I am aware - all over England mainly but they also visited Scotland so there may be some from there. Knowing her husband - they will be meticulously catalogued
I will try and get some more details from her after the Easter weekend
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Carole is it worth posting the information on the Armed Forces section of RC?
Someone there might have an idea what to do with them once you've got more details from your friend.
Caroline
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That seems like a good idea. I will ask the mod to move this post when I am able to give more details next week.
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As Annie has said, it may be useful to state the areas in which the photographs were taken.
Frank :)
Sorry for confusion,
I meant the area of where the items are at the moment for a collection point or to calculate postage.
E.G. If I was interested & the items were in Birmingham then I wouldn't need to enquire any further as it wouldn't be accessible for me.
Annie
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As Annie has said, it may be useful to state the areas in which the photographs were taken.
Frank :)
Sorry for confusion,
I meant the area of where the items are at the moment for a collection point or to calculate postage.
E.G. If I was interested & the items were in Birmingham then I wouldn't need to enquire any further as it wouldn't be accessible for me.
Annie
Hi, no worries Annie, I read it wrong ;D ;)
Frank :)
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Hi Annie
The location of the albums/books is Lytham St Annes - Lancashire
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Carole,
I think that should save you a few PM's as people now know where the items are if they're interested in them ;)
Annie
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Perhaps the Lytham St Anne's Local History Dept of the library would be interested in them.
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It may be tempting for your friend to try to dispose of them quickly just to get them out of the way, but the first offer may not necessarily be the best. I'm thinking here of the photos - books are another matter.
If she (with your help??) can bear to hang on to them for a bit and put some time into it, I would suggest that ideally they should be passed to museums/libraries/archives where they will be accessible to the maximum number of people, rather than kept in private hands.
It might be worth contacting the Imperial War Museum or the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to see if they were interested in them as a job lot, otherwise bodies local to where the photos were taken. This can be a bit time-consuming - everywhere has its own collection policies, and there are usually forms to fill in relating to ownership (is it a gift or a long term loan?) and copyright, but having undertaken a similar exercise when my aunt died a few years ago, it seemed that this was the best way to ensure their long term preservation and to make them available to as many people as possible.
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I must say that I agree with arthurk, I was thinking along much the same lines. Far better that they are handed to an organisation that will care for them than be given to someone who might well just sell them on for profit.
Another idea might be to place them in a specialist auction, at least then your friend would benefit from their sale and they would go to someone who really wanted them.
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My husband stopped me in my tracks last night when I told him about this post. He thinks the photos are of War Memorials - not graves so I really need to clarify that.
I won't be ringing my friend until Tuesday evening so will post afterwards. I do know she is not looking to make any money so the previous 2 replies are good advice
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Lancashire Archives at Preston? Or Northern Military Museum at Manchester?
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What about contacting this group:
http://www.warmemorials.org/about-the-trust/
or
http://www.civicvoice.org.uk/campaigns/war-memorials-/
Either might have a volunteer who would scan the pics & put them online on their website.
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I have now confirmed that there are 3 albums and they are of War Memorials and not graves as I posted - sorry about that error :-[
They are all indexed with location etc etc
Donation to an appropriate organisation is what my friend would like
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Looks as if that first group Josey suggested might be a good place to start. If they aren't interested they may know an organisation that would be.
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Yes - I thought they looked good starting points so thank you Josey for the links. I will be contacting them on her behalf after I have seen the albums myself and am in a better position to describe the contents.
As far as is known - the bulk are of English War Memorials but she isn't sure whether there may also be a smattering of Scottish ones
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Looks as if that first group Josey suggested might be a good place to start. If they aren't interested they may know an organisation that would be.
Hi, I agree with groom, they look very good.
Frank :)
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Thank you all for your interest and suggestions - very much appreciated. I will post again when we have a "result" to let you know how we go on
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... the first offer may not necessarily be the best.
... I would suggest that ideally they should be passed to ... archives where they will be accessible to the maximum number of people, rather than kept in private hands.
It might be worth contacting the Imperial War Museum ...
We are finding that some War Memorials are now lost, vandalised, stolen, or damaged.
A building or chapel closes, is demolished, set on fire, or is refurbished/converted, sometimes without any regard for those who died for their country, or names contained on any Memorial within and for that matter headstones outside.
I enquired about the paperwork that I felt the CWGC should hold, after reading our family's correspondence with their predecessor the IWGC and it seems they have disposed of much information. The MoD say they only keep about 5% of the records that were originally created. Which suggests to me that neither of them, would be the best.
The County Record Office will often take photographic collections, but don't sign any part of a form (or strike it through) that authorises them to sell, dispose, or destroy part, or all of the accession.
I'm afraid I don't have much time for some official organisations.
The Ordnance Survey Archaeological section and their Archaeologists produced a Card Index of ancient monuments and deserted medieval village (DMV) sites, which I understand went to the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments and then English Heritage.
A villager says that our local DMV was investigated, but when I enquired, I was told there were no archaeological index cards, when I pressed the matter further, I was told that part of the original OS Archaeological Card Index is now missing.
Mark