Category: Research in Focus

Research in Focus

Volunteering with naval artefacts from World War I

Emily Burgess, a third year history student at Portsmouth, describes some of the things she has learned and some of the amazing artefacts she has got to work with on a daily basis in over a year spent working as a volunteer first for the National Museum of the Royal Navy and then for the Royal Marines Museum. She is now devising her own projects and events for the museum and has found the experience invaluable to her studies for her degree.

Emily working with RMM medals collection.

During my first year at Portsmouth University I attended a history volunteer fair held in The Mary Rose Museum. It was there that I met my future supervisor and curator for the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Kate Braun. Soon enough I was shadowing her every movement and was able to do things I could only ever dream off as somebody utterly obsessed with history.

I started off using Adlib, the NMRN’s record system to document and quality check artefacts from the HMS Caroline, a decommissioned C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, which saw active service in both World War I and World War II. These artefacts were to be sent to Belfast to be put on display. I worked on this project for six months. Alongside this I met other curators and museum workers and I learnt a lot about the running of museums, particularly artefact handling and data collection. As I gained greater experience, I was invited to work on bigger projects such as exhibitions. Two of my favourites were The Jolly Rogers Exhibition, and The Jutland Exhibition. One of my fondest memories was working alongside conservator Kate Gill who I helped assess and pack a 104-year-old flag from the HMS Bellerophon which was present at the Battle of Jutland and was riddled with shrapnel holes. I learnt a lot from these exhibitions and began to understand how important teamwork and communication was when dealing with strict deadlines and unruly artefacts.

NMRN Jutland Exhibition flag

NMRN Jolly Rogers Exhibition

I was asked to transfer to the Royal Marines Museum and I quickly accepted. There I learnt how to handle weaponry and other dangerous artefacts, specifically shells, guns, and knives, filling out numerous risk assessments in the process. Here I learnt the importance of collections documentation and packing, and the safety precautions needed when dealing with hazardous objects. The artefacts ranged from 1860 to the present day and every day we’d discover a new object. This is one of the things I loved most about museum work. The artefacts within this museum were very personal, and by working extensively on the medals collection I gained a greater understanding of the experiences had by soldiers during the First and Second World War. This proved very helpful to my degree as I began to understand how material sources benefited historical study and expanded our understanding of contemporary events.

RMM Weapons Handling

My proudest moment came in my third year as I was invited to meet HRH Princess Anne for my work at the RMM. It is a moment I will never forget and will always be a highlight of my time here in Portsmouth. I have now volunteered at this museum for over a year and hope to work in the museum system one day.

My tutor Rob James, who was aware of my previous volunteer work helped me gain contact with Felicity Wood, The D-Day Story’s Public Participation Officer. At the end of my second year I began working alongside her, helping with events and marketing, specifically for the run up to D-Day 75.

D-Day 75

Emily meeting Princess Anne

Through this position I gained a greater understanding of the public side of museum work. After D-Day 75 I helped with events ranging from touch tours for the visually impaired to autism friendly events. I worked on social media analytics and wrote a report that was sent to the National Heritage Lottery Fund concerning the museum’s progress. One of my favourite moments was a joint event held with Bletchley Park where I got to play with an enigma machine. By working this event I realised how important it was for museums to support and work with each other. Recently I was granted funding to put on my own event under Felicity’s supervision. It was aimed at children and families and gave them the opportunity to make Second World War inspired Christmas decorations. I enjoyed doing this and it gave me the opportunity and freedom to devise my own project, and see it come to life. I am currently helping with the LCT 7074, a landing craft tank carrier that was present at the D-Day landings and is currently in Portsmouth Naval Base.

Visit to LCT 7074

By working in all three museums I have learnt more than I could have ever hoped for. I have learnt how museums run behind the scenes through curatorial work and archiving, and I have developed skills in marketing and public participation. As a student these experiences have proved invaluable and I encourage anyone interested in museum work to take any opportunities offered to you through your tutors, or externally through volunteer fairs.

January 24, 2020
New Data Set On Railway Accidents Released & Research Collaboration

In this post, Mike Esbester, Senior Lecturer in History, introduces the new dataset he’s been working on for the ‘Railway Work, Life & Death’ project. He shows the working behind the data and what’s in it – including why a book of legal cases reveals so much about one of the most dangerous industries of its time. You can find the all the project data here.

Back in February 2019 the ‘Railway Work, Life & Death’ project took part in Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine’s ‘Transcription Tuesday’ event. This made a primary source available digitally – scans of a volume detailing a railway trade union’s legal cases between 1901 and 1905 – and invited anyone, from anywhere in the world, to transcribe as little or as much as they fancied. We didn’t know what sort of a response we’d get, but we were delighted at what happened. The volume, of something over 2,000 entries, was complete by mid-afternoon on the day of the event! The volunteers were excellent, and did really good service: it would have a very long time for just one person to do the equivalent transcription. It was also another brilliant way of getting people involved in the project and its work – including some who started doing more detailed research into some of the accidents they discovered in the volume (for example, see this account of one worker’s family after his death).

The initial transcription was only part of the equation, however. With so many people involved – we estimated around 60 – despite our best attempts to cover all scenarios and set protocols in place to ensure standard ways of entering data, inevitably there were some variations. Not everyone was familiar with reading the nearly 120 year old manuscript. Some of the terms used or locations noted were obscure, at best, to those without some specialist railway background. To make the data as easily useable as possible, all of these things needed to be ironed out.

That was no small task. A number of volunteers were exceptionally helpful with elements of this – particularly Gordon and one anonymous volunteer, who between them came with an excellent knowledge of railway locations and working or historic county boundaries. Together we went over the data with a fine toothcomb. It took time. Everyone has been doing this around the margins of their day-to-day activities. But now it’s done …and the data is public!

So what’s in it?

There are 2,152 entries, covering Britain and Ireland for 1901-1905. They record cases where the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants trade union (now known as the RMT) had some sort of legal interest, to defend its members. Many of these relate to accidents – around half of them, which goes to show how prolific accidents at work once were in the railway industry, and the importance of health and safety issues to the trade union movement.

The entries give us some detail about who was involved, what happened, where and when. Sometimes they have more detail, including about the wider impact of an accident – whether on the injured worker or the family and dependents in the case of a fatality.

There are some mysteries, too. How did relief porter Faraday, a member of the Todmorden (Yorkshire) branch of the ASRS, come to be injured at Portsmouth on 18 August 1903? We know he was knocked down, paralysing his left arm and leg, but he was a long way from home (railway) territory. He received 8/5 compensation per week. This ended up being a long-running case – possibly because the railway company was unwilling to settle up. In July 1906 Faraday was offered £100 in compensation, which he declined. Instead he went back to the Company with a counter-offer: that he was willing to accept £260 and compensation. Unsurprisingly the Company didn’t opt for that; instead they offered £110, which Faraday accepted – a telling demonstration of where the power in the relationship lay.

Some of the cases are indisputably sad. On 29 September 1903 shunter J Wood had an accident at Longsight, Manchester. His hand was crushed between buffers on two railway vehicles. He was awarded 15/3 compensation per week. The details are scare, but in the ‘remarks’ column of the book an entry starkly notes ‘committed suicide 23 Sept 1904’. Did his accident have anything to do with his death? Impossible to say, but this was certainly the case for others.

Altogether through cases like these we get a better impression of the sometimes harsh realities of railway work at the turn of the 20^th century.

There’s more than accidents, too. Around half of the cases relate to other matters. Pilfering features, as do embezzlement, furious driving, slander, and the occasional good deed with an unintended consequence, like signalman Walker of the Dunford Bridge branch, who was summarily dismissed in 1905 for lending a funnel to a farmer to help him drain a leaking barrel of oil! Non-railway employees appear, too, so there’s all sorts of detail in there that helps us understand railway spaces and their relationships to wider society in Edwardian Britain and Ireland.

What next for the project? Well, there’s plenty still left to do: we’re currently working on cleaning 1000s of cases from the volunteer team at The National Archives. We’ve just received a run of 9,000 cases from the volunteer team at the National Railway Museum (NRM), covering 1921-1939. And we’ve had the go ahead to move the NRM team on to a new run of data in the new year, covering 1900-1910. Busy times – watch this space for more in the future!

December 23, 2019
University and Museum Collaborations: History within and beyond the classroom

In this blog, Dr Katy Gibbons and Dr Maria Cannon discuss the different ways in which the History team (both staff and students) at the University of Portsmouth have worked with the Mary Rose Museum, and highlight some ongoing and future projects.

The History team at Portsmouth is very fortunate in having a number of award-winning museums on our doorstep, and staff and students benefit from this. Only 10 minutes walk from the History team at Milldam building is the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, and one of the museums housed here is the world-leading Mary Rose Museum. Now housed in a bespoke setting, the museum is able to offer an immersive experience – a sense of being on board the ship itself as you walk alongside the remains of the ship, and an unrivalled collection of artefacts that offer a unique snapshot of Tudor life.

For a number of years, we have had connections with the Mary Rose Museum. It has offered opportunities for our students to volunteer, undertake placements and to have paid employment during the course of their studies.

History students undertaking a placement at the Mary Rose Museum

More recently, the History team has been working with the Museum in a number of different ways. These collaborations have brought benefits to the staff and students at the University, and to the Mary Rose Museum. We hope to continue these collaborations, boosted by the newly-inaugurated Portsmouth Heritage Hub.

Our collaboration with the Mary Rose currently includes:

–          A CPD training day for teachers of A-level History. Read more about the day here.

–          The highly successful annual Heritage, Arts and Culture Careers Fair. Hosted by the Mary Rose, and organised by the student-run History Society at the University, this offers students a chance to network with representatives from a wide range of organisations within the city and beyond. It is one of the highlights of the academic year!

An exhibitor from University of Portsmouth’s Careers and Employability service talks with recent graduate Nia Picton-Phillips at the 2019 Heritage, Arts and Culture Careers Fair

–          A forthcoming session at a Children’s History Society Workshop, which explores how to engage children with historical research at museums and heritage sites. To sign up, book here.

–          Discussions about the development of the Mary Rose Digital Archive

–          The integration of objects from the Mary Rose collection into specialist undergraduate teaching: as part of the new Second Year Module, ‘The Extraordinary and the Everyday: People, Places and Possessions’ students will be offered the opportunity to visit the Museum and conduct research on their artefacts

–          On the research front, we are also excited to now be working with both the Museum and colleagues in the Science Faculty at Portsmouth, considering how evidence from DNA analysis can help us to discover more about the crew of the Mary Rose, and to revisit older assumptions about the population of early modern England (for more info click here). Katy and Maria, alongside Dr Garry Scarlett and Dr Sam Robson in the School of Biological Sciences, are part of a cross-disciplinary project, funded by the University, to develop this work further.

Watch this space for future developments on these and other projects!

August 10, 2019
‘Have faith in your abilities’: Researching and writing the dissertation

In this blog Dr Rob James, senior lecturer in history, throws light on the process of researching and writing an undergraduate dissertation. Rob specialises in researching people’s leisure practices, and teaches a number of units that focus on one of the most popular leisure pursuits of the first half of the twentieth century, going to the cinema. He would be happy to supervise students with dissertation topics that cover a broad range of topics located broadly in twentieth-century Britain.

Mentioning the word ‘dissertation’ can send a ripple of terror across many a student cohort. It is like one of the characters in the Harry Potter books and films mentioning Lord Voldemort. It’s the thing ‘that-must-not-be-named’. For students in their first year of study, it’s along way off, of course, something quite easily put to the back of the mind, but mention the word and a look or horror usually appears. For second years, it still seems like a distant task to tackle, but there is a growing fear that it is something that needs to be thought about, particularly as the year progresses. For final year students, it’s something that’s at the forefront of every student’s mind. Have a look at the blogs on this site by previous Level 6 students and they will all mention the dissertation as something that’s ever-present in their minds in the final year.

Drawing on another fantasy book and film series for a metaphorical flourish, it’s like the character Gollum in The Lord of the Rings. In the first year, as in the first film in Peter Jackson’s trilogy The Fellowship of the Ring, only mentioned a few times. In the second year, as in The Two Towers, always lurking in the background and becoming an increasing concern. For final year students, like Gollum in The Return of the King, on every student’s mind and deemed essential for overall success! However, there’s no need to worry. Writing a dissertation is a do-able task. Millions of students have written one before you, and millions more will continue to do so. It’s achievable, and the sense of satisfaction you’ll feel once it’s done is second to none.

Okay, the thought of writing 10,000 words on a topic does seem daunting. I remember when I was an undergraduate (here at Portsmouth) that the thought of writing that many words seemed like an impossible task. But do not fear. You will be surprised at how easy it is to begin to build up that word count. Working on a topic that you are passionate about – one that you have chosen and set the agenda on – makes the task so much easier. There are also ways to make the task seem less insurmountable. For instance, it helps to break up the dissertation into smaller chunks. Most dissertations consist of an introduction, three chapters, and a conclusion. If you divide that up, that’s roughly 3000 words per chapter and 1000 words for the introduction and conclusion. I am sure that makes it sound more achievable doesn’t it? You’ve got this far by writing lots of longs essays, so this is definitely something you are used to! Setting achievable targets also helps. Fix a set of deadlines across the final year to complete the work. There will be an official deadline for the dissertation draft and final submission, of course, but at the start of the year they will seem a long way off, so start by portioning out your time across the months and organise draft chapter deadlines with your tutor. A slow-but-steady approach is always recommended. Taking a boom-and-bust approach– leaving it to the very end – is always a risky thing to do and usually results in a lot of stress and a less than perfect dissertation.

In addition, you are not left to do this on your own. Yes, it’s an individual project that requires lots of independent study, but you’ll receive lots of help as you go along the way. There is so much support available to you while you work on your dissertation, and I’d advise you to make the most of it! You will be assigned a dissertation supervisor who will work with you as your project progresses. They will be there to offer advice, caution against being too ambitious, challenge you not to be overcautious, help guide you through the research and writing process, read draft chapters and give feedback – as well as providing feedback on the whole draft. Why not make the most of that opportunity? It can only pay dividends. On top of this, second year students are able to speak with their personal tutor about their ideas and receive advice on them, and later in the year are given the opportunity to speak with a specialist in their research area to get feedback on their ideas. Finally, all second years submit a proposal that will receive feedback and guidance on how to proceed with the dissertation. There are also two sites on the VLE, Moodle, to help you work your way through the various stages of the process. The first – ‘Preparing for your dissertation’ – is a must-go-to destination for all second years, offering advice on planning your research, including what to include in the proposal! The second site – ‘Writing your dissertation’ – is an invaluable resource for all final year students, offering advice on researching, writing and producing the dissertation.

So, next time you hear mention of ‘the-thing-that-must-not-be-named’, relax. You’ve achieved so much already, and all the skills you have learned and are continuing to learn as you work your way through the degree, are leading to this point. You can do it. Have faith in your abilities. We do!

With many thanks to Russ Wiiliams, second year History student, who suggested the idea of using the character of Gollum as a metaphor for the dissertation’s increasing relevance as students work their way through the degree. My cultural references would have been somewhat dated and no doubt of little relevance to the majority of you!

January 7, 2019
Local History on Stage

As part of his practice research PhD at Portsmouth, Vin Adams has written a play about the events here in 1642, just before Charles I raised his standard in Nottingham. The play will be performed in The Square Tower in Old Portsmouth, itself part of the action of the play, and brings to life many figures of the time including Queen Henrietta Maria, John Pym, Sir William Waller and, of course, George Goring. For anyone interested in local history, this should be an interesting exploration of Portsmouth’s part in one of the battles that prefaced the Civil War. Vin has been working on the project with Fiona McCall, senior lecturer in early modern history at Portsmouth, and final year BA (Hons) History student Tom Austin.

Besieged!

Being a New Play

About the

Remarkable Role of Portsmouth

In Kindling

The English Civil War.

6^th-9^th March 2019 at 7.30pm Tickets £10 (£8 for Students) www.ticketsource.co.uk/ssa

Dashing and heroic on the field of battle and a complete disaster in his private life, Colonel George Goring has been given the Governorship of one of the most militarily important towns in the country: Portsmouth. Having played the King and Parliament off against each other to fund the refortification of the town, he finally reveals which side he’s on and gives his people little choice but to defend themselves against enormous odds. As the tower of St. Thomas’ Church is hit and Southsea Castle is taken, will Goring’s men be a match for the troops massing on Portsdown Hill? In her desperate attempts to raise armies to save her husband, will the Queen accept Goring’s offer of safe passage to the continent? And will Goring escape with his life or be forced to carry out his threat to blow up The Square Tower and everyone inside the town walls?

Based on contemporary accounts and using the vibrant dramatic style of the seventeenth century, Besieged brings to life the comedy and tragedy of a surprising moment in the history of Portsmouth.

Teo Dumitriu as Queen Henrietta Maria

Danny Carter as Colonel Goring

Pat Howe as Sir William Waller

December 21, 2018
A Christmas reading list

In this festive-themed blog, Dr Katy Gibbons, Senior Lecturer in History, recommends a few texts that feature a link to Christmas. Katy specialises in the religious and cultural history of 16^th century England and Europe, and teaches amongst other units, a Special Subject ‘Conflict, Conspiracy, Consensus? Religious Identities in the Reign of Elizabeth I’.

With Christmas fast approaching, no doubt many historians are adding reading material to their Christmas lists! For some historians, though, Christmas is the focus of the research they carry out – and there is a wealth of academic history that considers the changing significance of this festival over many centuries. So, for our blog readers, here are our pick of history-writing about Christmas, each of which is connected to the research and teaching activity of History at Portsmouth. All of these are available for our current students via the University Library – so, happy Christmas, and happy reading!

1). Given the central importance of Christmas to the Christian Calendar, what happened when England’s Christian population was divided by the Reformation? Did Protestants and Catholics begin to find separate ways in which to mark Christmas? Here Phebe Jensen considers festivity and Christmas celebrations amongst Catholic families in Protestant Britain:

https://capitadiscovery.co.uk/port/items/888707?query=region+religion+patronage&resultsUri=items%3Fquery%3Dregion%2Breligion%2Bpatronage

2). What did Christmas-lovers do in 17^th century England, when the celebration and ‘merriment’ of Christmas was officially outlawed by the authorities in the Commonwealth period? How ‘popular’ a move was it, and did people resist or ignore these demands? Here Christmas is part of Bernard Capp’s wider consideration of Puritan attempts to regulate all kinds of social behaviour:

https://capitadiscovery.co.uk/port/items/1296826?query=england%27s+culture+wars&resultsUri=items%3Fquery%3Dengland%2527s%2Bculture%2Bwars

3). Christmas as we think of it today is often seen to be a Victorian ‘invention’. Here Neil Armstrong considers one aspect of the Victorian Christmas – the practice of sending Christmas greetings cards:

http://jvc.oup.com/2013/12/21/christmas-greetings-2/

4). Perhaps one of the most famous Christmas scenes relating to the global conflicts of the 20^th century is that of the Christmas truce on the Western Front. Revisiting this is particularly relevant given the 2018 centenary of the end of the First World War. Here Terri Blom Crockers offers a challenge to older interpretations of what the truce meant:

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/portsmouth-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4012423

5). And, finally, Christmas is a time when much TV (and films) are watched! It also sparks the production of Christmas-themed material. Some of this has spooky content, such as the adaptations of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Here Derek Johnston considers the significance of the Christmas Ghost Story in a number of different formats and contexts:

https://capitadiscovery.co.uk/port/items/1214412?query=christmas+history&resultsUri=items%3Fquery%3Dchristmas%2Bhistory%26offset%3D10

And before you settle down to watch that festive film, have a read about the ways in which Christmas has been rendered on film in this edited collection from Mark Connelly:

https://capitadiscovery.co.uk/port/items/507971?query=christmas+at+the+movies&resultsUri=items%3Fquery%3Dchristmas%2Bat%2Bthe%2Bmovies

December 14, 2018