New Books at the Great North Museum:Hancock Library

Books   Great North Museum: Hancock
Posted by administrator on April 23, 2013     Permalink     Leave a comment

One of the pleasures of working as the Librarian in the Great North Museum:Hancock Library is that you get to look at all of the wonderful new books that are added to stock.

Ann Spencer, one of the new Library Volunteers, took the opportunity to write a review of David Attenborough’s book, First Life; A journey back in time, that was recently added to stock. Here are her thoughts….

 

This book is based on insights captured during the making of the accompanying TV series, with an introduction by David Attenborough. The book is a chronological account of the story of early life from Pre-Cambrain times to key events during the explosion of life in the Cambrian period. The story of how geologists pieced together the puzzle of how living creatures survived the Ice Age has more in common with a Sherlock Holmes adventure than the work associated with activities in a laboratory.

 

Although the book deals with potentially difficult subject matter the text is well written and accessible to readers who have little specialist scientific knowledge. There are some magnificent photographs including computer generated images of plants and animals extrapolated from their fossils.

 

One of the many delights of this book is the insight it provides into the young David Attenborough’s enthusiasm for fossil hunting, a passion which prompted his interest in the natural world which has given pleasure to so many of us.

Listed below is a selection of some of the other new purchases and donations that have been recently added to the Library. To view the full records please go to NewcastleUniversity’s Library Catalogue.

Breeze, David J (Editor),  200 Years – The Society of Antiquaries Newcastle Upon Tyne 1813 – 2013,   SANT,  2013

Breeze, David J (Editor) The first souvenirs – enamelled vessels from Hadrian’s Wall,Cumberlandand Westmorland Archaeological Society 2012

Clark, Andrew & Nairn, Goerge,  Durham Coal – A people’s history,  People’s History, 2001

Curcic, Slobadon, Architecture as Icon – Perception and representation of architecture in Byzantine art,PrincetonUniversity, 2010

Dennis, Nigel & MacDonald, David Meerkats  A & C Black, 2009

Eilperin, Juliet,  Demon fish  – travels through the hidden world of Sharks, Duckworth, 2012

Gerstel, Sharon & Nelson, Robert,  Approaching theHolyMountain, Brepols,  2010

Grigs, Lucy & Kelly, Gavin (Editors), Two Romes –RomeandConstantinoplein late antiquity, OUP, 2012

Hodder, Ian, The present past – An introduction to anthropology for archaeologists, Batsford, 2012

Liverani, Paolo & Spinola, Giandomenico, The Vatican Necropoles  -Rome’s City of the dead, Brepols, 2010

Moyal, Ann,  Platypus – The extraordinary story of how a curious creature baffled the world, Smithsonian Institute, 2001

Orton, Fred,  Fragments of history – rethinking the Ruthwell andBewcastleMonuments, Manchster University Press,  2007

Pietsch, Oceanic anglerfishes  – extraordinary diversity in the deep sea, University of California, 2009

Prahms, Wendy, Animals inNewcastle  – An illustrated history, Tempus, 2008

Sands, Tim, Wildlife in trust – a hundred years of nature conservation, Wildlife Trusts, 2012

Scott, Bob, The illustrated birdwatcher’s handbook, Bounty, 2012

Smith, Charles H ,  Natural selection and beyond – the intellectual legacy of Alfred Russel Wallace, OUP 2008

Taylor, Neil,  Memories of the Northumberland Coalfields, Countryside Books, 2009

Temple, David,  DurhamMiners’ Millennium Book, TUPS Books

Turner, John ,  Ponteland (Images ofEngland) Tempus,  1999

I hope to see you in the Library soon. Opening hours are 10.00 – 4.00 Monday to Friday.

New Books

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bringing a touch of royal glamour to Post-War Sunderland

Collections & Objects   Discovery Museum   Local History   Maritime History   Social History   The Archives
Posted by administrator on April 21, 2013     Permalink     Comments (3)

Today is the Queen’s Birthday – she was born on 21 April 1926. To celebrate lets go back nearly 67 years to a time before she was on the throne, before she was even married.

The year is 1946 and for many British people life is tough. The Second World War is over but its effects are still being felt – rationing is in place, there’s a shortage of housing and the country is deeply in debt. This does sound strangely familiar …

The royal family had emerged from the War with its popularity renewed. Only ten years earlier the abdication of Edward VIII had left it in crisis but the solidarity of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth with their people during the Blitz had turned this on its head. Princess Elizabeth herself was admired for serving as an ambulance driver and mechanic during the War. With all the Post-War gloom a royal visit was a real boost to people’s spirits.

On 30 April 1946 Princess Elizabeth visited the shipyard of Sir James Laing & Sons Ltd to launch the oil tanker ‘British Princess’. The Archives holds a fantastic photograph album commemorating the event (TWAM ref. DS.LG/4/PH/4/1).

Upon arrival at the shipyard the royal party were greeted by W.B. Marr, Chairman of Sir James Laing & Sons Ltd. Members of the launch party were presented to the Princess and the royal party was then served lunch in the dining room by the works canteen staff.

Works canteen staff in the Dining Room at the Deptford shipyard, 30 April 1946 (TWAM ref. DS.LG/4/PH/4/1)

The Sunderland Echo and Shipping Gazette for 30 April states that “Cooking of the lunch was supervised by Miss G. Willis, canteen manageress, and the menu consisted of tomato soup, roast spring chicken, bread sauce, green peas, new potatoes and bacon rolls, followed by strawberry sponge and cheese, biscuits and coffee”.

The menu is fairly plain reflecting perhaps the rationing of the time. After lunch Miss Jennifer Marr, eldest daughter of Alan J. Marr, managing director of the firm, presented the Princess with a bouquet of pink roses.

Miss Jennifer Marr presents a bouquet to Princess Elizabeth, 30 April 1946 (TWAM ref. DS.LG/4/PH/4/1)

The Princess then made her way to the launch platform, where the Royal Corps of Signals band played the National Anthem. Speaking as she launched the ship Princess Elizabeth said “I name this vessel the British Princess. May God Bless her and those who sail in her”.

Princess Elizabeth launches the 'British Princess', 30 April 1946 (TWAM ref. DS.LG/4/PH/4/1)

The vessel left the stocks and slid down the slipway.

British Princess sliding down the ways, 30 April 1946 (TWAM ref. DS.LG/4/PH/4/1)

The Sunderland Echo and Shipping Gazette reported that ‘Workmen threw their hats into the air as she entered the Wear. The sirens and buzzers of ships in the river sounded in a triumphant chorus”.

'British Princesss' afloat on the River Wear after launch, 30 April 1946 (TWAM ref. DS.LG/4/PH/4/1)

After the launch the Queen was introduced to the firm’s youngest apprentice, 14 year old, Jimmy Mackel, who was learning his trade as a plater. If Jimmy is still alive it would be lovely to have his reminiscences about the occasion. It would also be great to hear from anybody else who was there for the launch.

The youngest apprentice, Jimmy Mackel, is presented to Princess Elizabeth, 30 April 1946 (TWAM ref. DS.LG/4/PH/4/1)

Jimmy Mackel’s presentation to Princess Elizabeth provides an interesting parallel with a visit to the Laings yard in 1917 by her grandfather, King George V. On that occasion he famously met a young apprentice.

The youngest apprentice at Laings shipyard is presented to King George V, 15 June 1917 (TWAM ref. DS.LG/5/1/1)

The royal party then made its way through the enthusiastic crowd of 6,000 onlookers to the shipyard’s Reception Room.

Princess Elizabeth goes on a royal walkabout before the launch reception, 30 April 1946 (TWAM ref. DS.LG/4/PH/4/1)

The ‘British Princess’ was built for the British Tanker Company Ltd and at the reception, Sir William Fraser, Chairman of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company Ltd replied to a toast by W.B. Marr.

“We of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company take a great pride in the fleet of our British Tanker Company; it is one of the largest fleets flying the Red Ensign. The shipbuilders of Sunderland have a proud record, and the ‘British Princess’ is in every way a true representative of that splendid tradition”.

W.B. Marr presented Princess Elizabeth with a flower brooch and she then gave a stirring reply to the toasts.

Images of the brooch given to the Princess by the shipbuilders and shipowners, 30 April 1946 (TWAM ref. DS.LG/4/PH/4/1)

“The British Tanker Company, to whose fleet the ‘British Princess’ is the latest addition, lost 44 ships by enemy action. Men, who, from childhood, had inherited all those gifts and traditions which have made British shipbuilding preeminent gave years of patient and devoted work to their construction. The result of those years of devotion was often destroyed in a matter of minutes, but the memory of those ships and of the men who served in them can never be lost. It will live for ever.”

This is one of the great values of Archives – they provide a window into the past, keeping alive memories and past glories. The Sunderland shipyards may be gone but they are certainly not forgotten. They serve as an inspiration to future generations.

View of the 'British Princess' passing towards the Wearmouth Bridge as she leaves the River Wear, August 1946 (TWAM ref. DS.LG/4/PH/4/1)

 

P boats of the First World War – William Bartram and P23

Collections & Objects   Discovery Museum   Maritime History   Military History
Posted by administrator on April 18, 2013     Permalink     Comments (29)
Detail of the model of P23

Detail of the model of P23

Recently I’ve been researching a class of naval vessels that doesn’t usually attract much attention. Since there were 44 of them they weren’t exclusive or unique, although they were very special to the shipyards that built them. I’m talking about the P boats, Patrol Boats, of the First World War, that were built between 1915 and 1917.

 

Model of P23

View of the starboard side of a 1:48 scale model of P23 (TWCMS : B9663)

 

The P boats were built under the Emergency War Programme and were designed to relieve destroyers of patrol and escort work and submarine hunting.

The outline scheme for the boats stipulated that they should be of minimum size consistent with sea-keeping qualities, be simple of construction, and have adequate speed to run down submarines. They were also to be of shallow draught and have low upperworks to reduce visibility and windage. They were to be built of mild steel but with a hard steel stem for ramming submarines. They carried a crew of about 50 men.

Ram bow of model of P28

Ram bow of 1:32 scale model of P28. (TWCMS : B9664)

 

Specifying that they were to be simple to construct meant shipyards that usually built tramp steamers and colliers could be commissioned to build P boats. The Admiralty awarded the contracts to 18 different shipyards around the country.  Small yards from theTyne and from the Wear were proud of their contribution to the fighting navy and they commissioned models of the boats they built. John Readhead & Sons of South Shields (P31, P47 and P48), Robert Thompson & Sons of Sunderland (P28 and P49), and R A Bartram & Sons ofSunderland(P23 and P41) all had models made, and over the years those models have come into TWAM’s collections

 

I thought it might be interesting to explore the type by looking at the model of the Bartram’s boat, P23, and also referring to entries in William Bartram’s diary. William N Bartram was the second son of Sir Robert A Bartram and was born at South Hylton in 1862. He worked for the family shipbuilding firm throughout his life and was managing director from around 1908 until his death on 22nd November 1923.

Photograph of William Bartram

Photograph of William Bartram that accompanied his obituary in the Transactions of the North East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders for 1923

 

The diary gives us a unique insight into the building, launch, trials and handover of the boat. We are fortunate that the diary (TWAS : DS.BM/2/1) has survived as part of the collection of Tyne and Wear Archives.

 

 

The P boats had a large rudder area and a hull that was strongly cut up aft to give rapid turning. A resemblance to large submarines was fostered to give the boats a chance to close the range and sink a German U-boat by ramming or gunfire. A low, sharply cut away, funnel added to that impression.

Propellers, stern bracket and rudder

Propellers, stern bracket and rudder (TWCMS : B9663)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Funnel, steering wheel, chart table and searchlight

Funnel, steering wheel, chart table and searchlight (TWCMS : B9663)

The forward 4 - inch gun with shells stored around the gun platform

The forward 4 – inch gun with shells stored around the edge of the gun platform (TWCMS : B9663)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The armament consisted of a single 4 – inch gun, a 40 mm anti-aircraft gun, and two 14 inch torpedo tubes. The model shows a second 4 – inch gun fitted aft; an addition proposed in 1916 but adopted in only one vessel, P52.

The 40mm (2 pounder) anti-aircraft gun

The 40mm (2 pounder) anti-aircraft gun (TWCMS : B9663)

 

Port and starboard racks with depth charges and release mechanisms

Port and starboard racks with depth charges and release mechanisms (TWCMS : B9663)

View from the port quarter including the 4 - inch gun that was never fitted

The two 14 in. torpedo tubes mounted port and starboard on the stern facing aft were recycled from old torpedo boats. It was hoped that they could be used to cripple German surface warships with torpedoes if attacked during one of the many East Coast raids. The P boats were excellent in an anti-submarine role in all weathers.

14 inch torpedo tubes facing aft

14 inch torpedo tubes facing aft (TWCMS : B9663)

William Bartram - Diary Entry for June 21st 1916

William Bartram – Diary Entry for June 21st 1916 (TWAS : DS.BM/2/1)

 

P23 had her official sea trials on June 21st 1916. William Bartram was aboard and recorded the details in his diary. After a four hour full power trial, four speed runs were made over the measured mile at a mean speed of 21.8 knots. This easily exceeded the required maximum speed of 20 knots. The trials concluded with turns performed going ahead and astern.

 

 

On June 26th William Bartram formally handed over P23 to her commander, Lieutenant Smith. After swinging the boat to correct her compasses she left for Dover and duty with the Dover Patrol. All the boats served with the Dover Patrol, Nore Local Defence Flotilla or Portsmouth Escort Force.

 

William Bartram continued to be interested in P23’s progress. When she got a stray piece of net around her port propeller and bent her turbine blades he rushed to London to visit the boat in dock at Limehouse. Lieutenant Smith, Sub Lieutenant Symons and Engineer Hills declared that P23 was the best boat at Dover, that she had less vibration than the other P boats and that her engine room arrangements and cabins were better. Bartram must have been delighted with their praise and he recorded the remarks in his diary entry of 22nd August 1916.

 

William Bartram - Diary Entry for 22nd August 1916

William Bartram – Diary Entry for 22nd August 1916 (TWAS : DS.BM/2/1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I started this piece of research I knew that the model came from Bartram’s shipyard but I didn’t know who had made it. The diary entry of October 5th 1916 provided the answer.

“This afternoon Crawford brought the model of the Patrol Boat down. This is one we have had made for ourselves, it is a fine piece of work”

C Crawford & Sons was a firm of model makers based in St. Marks Crescent,Sunderland in 1916.

As we move towards the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War I am hoping to find out more about the careers of the P boats that were built in our area. 19 were built in North East shipyards, more than 40% of the total. All but P26, built by the Tyne Iron Shipbuilding Co., Willington Quay, survived the war so surely there must be some tales to tell.

 

Behind the Scenes in the Science and Industry Stores

Collections & Objects   Collections Management   Discovery Museum   Maritime History   Science
Posted by administrator on April 16, 2013     Permalink     Comments (4)

Last week I cleaned a German World War One Torpedo, found out what’s stored inside the drawer of an Electro Shock Therapy table, took photographs of an airplane engine and opened a wooden crate that had been sealed for over fifteen years.

While I would probably do all of these things just for fun, these activities are actually part of my new job. And what is this curious form of employment? Officially, I’m a documentation assistant working on Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums’ Science and Industry and Maritime museum collections, currently located in store. Unofficially, I’m a cross between David Dickinson and Lara Croft, Tomb Raider.

Having worked as a front of house assistant at the Discovery Museum for over three years, I couldn’t wait to get behind the scenes, get my hands on some actual objects and learn more about what makes an object museum-worthy. Like anyone moving on to a full-time, grown up position, my first thoughts gravitated towards my new wardrobe. Little did I know that my new work-style would be less Nine to Five, more Open All Hours.

Each week, I don what I have affectionately come to refer to as my ‘sad-rags’, complete with steel toe-capped boots, protective breathing mask and plastic gloves and descend into the dusty, draughty basement store room. I spend my days investigating, cleaning, conserving and recording the eclectic mix of fascinating and, at times, unidentified objects housed there – and I love every minute of it.

My outfit isn’t just designed to give my colleagues a laugh as it protects my skin and lungs while I work. Many of the objects housed in this store were used in heavy industry so there’s always a chance they may contain asbestos, carcinogenic oil or other nasty substances.

The tricky bit comes when some of these objects have to be moved to improve access. Imagine playing a real-life game of Tetris, but instead of moving brightly-coloured virtual blocks you’re trying to move turbine engines, model ships, steam pumps and generators, some of which weigh, quite literally, a ton. In place of a quirky computer theme tune the air is filled with the grunts and sighs of heavy labour, punctuated with the odd expletive.

With no windows, natural light or fresh air it can feel as though time is standing still down there – like you’re the only people left in the world – so if you ever visit the Discovery Museum and hear the odd crash, strange hammering noises or incoherent babbling beneath your feet, don’t worry, it’s only us.

I do get to turn up in a pencil skirt and tap on my keyboard from time to time, as I spend a few days a week on research and documentation. I feel a bit like a detective at times looking for clues that will tell us more about the objects we uncover. Using old records, photographs, letters and other documents, I try to piece together how and why this particular object came into our possession and what makes it significant.

I also create and improve the objects’ online records. Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums currently has over half a million records of objects in its collection and we hope to give you access to information and images on every single one of them online. Have a browse here.

The project is progressing wonderfully so far, with the final outcome becoming ever clearer in our sights. Sometime soon, we hope to have this store in good enough shape that you, our lovely public, can visit and do a little investigating of your own. In the meantime I’ll be sharing more images and stories of the treasure we uncover over the next few months so do call back from time to time.

Ralph Hedley at South Shields Museum & Art Gallery

Art   Collections & Objects   Local History   Shipley Art Gallery   South Shields Museum & Art Gallery
Posted by administrator on April 8, 2013     Permalink     Comments (2)

The exhibition of paintings and sketchbooks by Ralph Hedley is on at the Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead, but there’s still more Hedley paintings on show elsewhere in the local area.

I took a Metro to South Shields to see the Museum and Art Gallery where there’s three Ralph Hedley paintings on show – each with a story to tell.

Invention of the lifeboat, Willie Wouldhave, South Shields, 1789

Ralph Hedley’s Invention of the lifeboat, Willie Wouldhave, South Shields, 1789 is on display on the ground floor of South Shields Museum and Art Gallery.

Henley exhibited Invention of the lifeboat in Newcastle and at the Royal Academy, London, in 1897. Then it was bought by a group of enthusiasts in South Shields and presented it to the town council at a 

ceremony in August 1898 to mark the re-opening of the town library (now the museum) after it has been closed for two years for building work.

Next to the painting in today’s museum display are several linked exhibits, including the model lifeboat Hedley depicted in his picture, and a marble bust of William Wouldhave. In the bust Wouldhave looks a lot older than the fresh-faced handsome man shown in Hedley’s painting.

William Wouldhave had a competitor who claimed that he invented the lifeboat – Henry Greathead, also of South Shields. Both of them submitted designs for a competition to design a rescue boat, and ideas from both of them were used in a final design.

Down Ocean Road from the museum is a monument of 1890. It commemorates the work of both William Wouldhave and Henry Greathead, and celebrated the 1887 Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Next to the monument is the lifeboat Tyne in an elegant cast-iron pavilion.

Ralph Cruickshank

Tucked away on the second floor is Ralph Hedley’s portrait of Ralph Cruickshanks, painted in 1903.

Ralph Cruickshanks worked on the steam ferries between North and South Shields for 43 years.  He retired in 1899, and worked as a picture framer and gilder in South Shields until his death in 1897.

Cruickshanks was known for having taken in the Border Collie, ‘Wandering Willie’.

In 1873, a shepherd was driving a flock of sheep from the Cheviot Hills in Northumberland to the Cleveland hills. At the ferry between North Shields and South Shields, he thought he was missing a sheep and sent his dog to look for it. After the dog had gone he counted his sheep again and found they were all there, so he continued his journey, and left the dog behind.

The dog wandered around North and South Shields and crossed and re-crossed the Tyne on the ferry, looking for its master. The dog searched for years and earned the name ‘Wandering Willie’,. Eventually, when it was old and ill, Ralph Cruickshanks took it in.

When the dog died in the early 1880s it was preserved and, if you’d like to go and say ‘hello’, Wandering Willie is now to be found in the bar of the Turk’s Head Hotel, Front Street, Tynemouth.

If you want more of the story of Wandering Willie , it’s in the Monthly chronicle of North-country lore and legend, May 1889, vol.3 no.27, p.233-4, ‘Wandering Willie’ by Thomas Hudson – you can find it on line at http://archive.org/stream/monthlychronicle03jubiuoft#page/232/mode/2up

 

Ars Longa, vita brevis’ (1900)

Ralph Hedley’s ‘Ars Longa, vita brevis’ hangs in South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, in the same room as his portrait of Ralph Cruickshanks. The title translates from Latin as ‘art is long, life is short’, and, the picture shows a weary old artist, sitting on his bed, and trying to muster the energy to paint.

Ralph Hedley painted this picture with bold brushstrokes, and it is clearly a sketch for a larger painting. Further research is needed, but this larger version of ‘Ars Longa, vita brevis’ may be the painting of 1900 by Hedley that was sold in Munich in 2012. It had the title Des müden Künstlers Abend, which translates as The weary artist evening), and was dated 1900.

Ralph Hedley website

I’ve been working with Ralph Hedley’s great-granddaughter, on a new website with pictures of Hedley’s paintings, and further information – check it out at http://ralphhedleyarchive.com/index.html