9 March 2022: The prolonged silence since the last of these posts cannot be attributable to any absence of interesting glimmers sighted at Kew. The air has been somewhat dominated, however, by the release in January of the 1921 Census for England and Wales – a long-awaited insight into a fascinating era and an event of which those researching their family history will already be aware. A series of related projects have included a new exhibition at Kew – The 1920s: Beyond the Roar. Of these matters, more later.
Of more specific interest to the Friends is a project entitled Rebels in the Records which was mentioned in my last blog. In support of education resources at Kew, FTNA agreed last year to fund a series of short films produced by students for audiences of their contemporaries. Using documents at the archives, they set out in July to tell the stories of unsung individuals who stood up to authority on matters of principle. Further pandemic disruption caused delays but last month the six completed films produced under the supervision of Nigel Kellaway were launched. Andrew Payne, head of the Education Department, said they demonstrated yet again how much creativity is inspired by the range and depth of collections at Kew; human stories are tucked away in every corner. He went on to say: “We couldn’t do it without the Friends.”
All six films can be seen on YouTube. As a keen storyteller myself, I was particularly impressed by two of them. The first is on Constance Markievicz, the Irish republican campaigner who became the first woman elected to Westminster.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUUQE1hiZQI
The second features Samuel Sharpe, leader of the 1832 slave rebellion in Jamaica.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwL-N562z9c
Mention has been made here before of the invaluable work done by Friends volunteering to help digitalise archive records, so it was gratifying to see this acknowledged in the form of an award to three of these unsung heroes involved in cataloguing 169 boxes of First World War medical records contained in the MH 106 series. As well as their hands-on labours since 2020, Peter and Dee Helmore and Gareth Keller suggested a means of streamlining and improving the work, as a result of which they recently received the Best Team prize in the London Volunteer Heritage Awards. Peter has spoken to me about the project, which is demanding on his time but brings the thrilling reward of discovery. The appreciation for such efforts demonstrated by staff at TNA is a reminder that we can serve our treasured institution in ways other than funding.
Given that the records at Kew run along 120 miles of storage space it is unsurprising that new discoveries continue regularly to come to light. I confess to have significant gaps in my knowledge of the Jacobites but treachery always holds the prospect of an interesting read and the discovery of a previously overlooked note at Kew has produced a blog that does not disappoint. Richard Knight shows that spies and secret agents were up to their tricks 300 years ago and resolves a long-running mystery. (The comments left at the end of these blogs can also be interesting,)
https://clicks.econnectmail.com/email/S-2254@190894@oIItx4sERB-A4k9Z0N-dcZGxvpB8xUFleblQoU6vDUU.@
On a related theme, with more dark-side plotting, an upcoming talk hosted by the Friends entitled The Jacobites and International Intrigue is to be given by Ralph Thompson on March 23. Bookings can be made at:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/219309950967
Among the recent blogs from TNA, one will strike a chord with anyone interested in our maritime past. Wrecks along the Cornish coastline were long a source of folklore as well as salvage riches. A belief that ships were lured onto the rocks for plunder by “wreckers” gave rise to yarns which – like many of those told down at the local inn – turned out to be largely fictional. Wreckers were, rather, poor tenant workers on coastal estates who seized the opportunity to retrieve cargo washed ashore, to which they could claim half the value. The subject of the “right of wreck”, and the disputes it gave rise to among neighbouring manorial lords is explored at:
https://clicks.econnectmail.com/email/S-2766@231306@oIItx4sERB-A4k9Z0N-dcZGxvpB8xUFleblQoU6vDUU.@
In what have turned into dark times, we may be reminded of the vile record of dictatorships in the not-distant past. The following blog, on the little-known but terrible concentration camp of Neuengamme, near Hamburg, was compiled in memory of Holocaust Memorial Day. It triggered an immediate and significant level of responses from followers of TNA’s weekly newsletter.
https://clicks.econnectmail.com/email/S-2700@225719@oIItx4sERB-A4k9Z0N-dcZGxvpB8xUFleblQoU6vDUU.@
“Fake news” is nothing new and presentations from the front line of conflicts have always been susceptible to manipulation. In that respect, technology has taken us into a new age. This little item from Kew shows how photographs were once used to distort reality in a rather less sinister way.
And so back to the Census. It can be found online at Kew. Otherwise, a subscription to the Findmypast site is required.
https://clicks.econnectmail.com/email/S-2859@239281@oIItx4sERB-A4k9Z0N-dcZGxvpB8xUFleblQoU6vDUU.@
Living as we do in an age of sexual diversity, aspects of what is now routinely known as LGBTQ+ identity as revealed by the Census are explored in a blog at
https://clicks.econnectmail.com/email/S-2859@239279@oIItx4sERB-A4k9Z0N-dcZGxvpB8xUFleblQoU6vDUU.@
The exhibition devoted to the 1920s, Beyond the Roar, certainly has risque aspects to it, as might be expected from a fizzing era which went a long way beyond monocles and jazz.
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20s-people/the-1920s-beyond-the-roar/
The opening produced enthusiastic press coverage. The Times highlighted the show with the headline “Good-time guys and gals left 1920s moralists in a flap.” The paper also ran a leading article which said it demonstrated that “Warnings about dissolute forms of entertainment are nothing new”. When Hollywood movies introduced sound, some feared “an evil influence on our language”.
I have not yet seen the show, which is free and runs until June. What I particularly like the sound of though, is a recreation of the 43 Club founded by the indefatigable queen of Soho nightlife, Kate Meyrick, who was given more than one spell in the slammer for selling liquor sans license. The exhibition ends with a quotation from her memoir: “What’s wrong with a good time?”
In keeping with the spirit of that age, you might find this clip entertaining. (It’s worth hanging on until His Satanic Majesty and the Revellers appear.)