Keeping vigilant

As with a lot of professions, accuracy is extremely important in the archives world.  However, as we are dealing with material produced by other people, we can not control their accuracy, or indeed correct any errors.  We can, however, draw attention to known errors through finding aids.

The Civil Defence cards have been a great example of this.  With the project, we have endeavoured to record the information as it appears on the card as there are cases of spelling where it is not clear what the correct form should take.  There are times when it is quite obvious that the original writer has entered the information as it sounds like it should be spelt. 

On occasion, this can have an amusing outcome such as the one I came across where the warden’s occupation struck me as perhaps not being correct.

I checked the address in the 1939 edition of the Kelly’s directory and found that the real purpose of the association was quite different.

In the spotlight

We had a very positive response to the Lunchtime Lecture last Tuesday (13 Nov).  It was counted that about 90 people attended.  The talk was given to coincide with Remembrance Day and for us to announce the release of the first wave of records.

These are:

C TSCD – City Engineers Civil Defence Records

C TSWD – City Engineers War Damage Records

C TYG – Recommendations for acknowledgements and Gallantry awards

C TCVC – Victory Celebrations (Special) Committee

Also, we released 3500 names from the Civil Defence personnel cards. 

The series released in their entirety are:

C TYR/5 Ambulance Driver personnel cards

C TYR/6 First Aid Service personnel cards

C TYR/7 First Aid Attendant personnel cards

C TYR/8 Decontamination of Personnel personnel cards

C TYR/10 Highways personnel cards

C TYR/11 Transport Driver personnel cards

C TYR/12 Messenger personnel cards

C TYR/13 Clerk personnel cards

C TYR/14 Office personnel cards

C TYR/15 Storekeeper personnel cards

C TYR/16 Sewers personnel cards

C TYR/17 Dresser personnel cards

Other series are still being indexed but have been partially released, these are:

C TYR/1 for surnames beginning with ‘A’

C TYR/2 for surnames beginning with ‘A’ to ‘F’

C TYR/3 for surnames beginning with ‘A’ to ‘F’

C TYR/9 for surnames beginning with ‘A’ to ‘G’

I’d like to take this opportunity to once again than the volunteers for their time and effort put into this. 

You can find out more about the records here:

http://www.hullhistorycentre.org.uk/discover/hull_history_centre/our_collections/second_world_war_records.aspx

We have updated the Second World War source guide to include these records and a PDF can be downloaded here:

http://www.hullhistorycentre.org.uk/discover/pdf/SecondWorldWar_v3.pdf

We received a lot of media coverage for the release of these records with appearances on Calendar and Look North.  BBC Humberside Online put together an article based on the Look North and both the Hull Daily Mail and The Yorkshire Post produced articles.  See the links below.

http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2012-11-13/photos-show-wartime-devastation-of-hull/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-20341765

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/main-section/city-that-could-not-speak-its-name-1-5129818

http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Unearthed-Amazing-tale-Hull-brickie-Second-World/story-17317986-detail/story.html

Lunchtime Lecture Club

To coincide with Remembrance Day, myself and Carol Tanner will be giving November’s Lunchtime Club Lecture.  We will be talking about the project, the work of the volunteers and the records I have been cataloguing.

It will take place from 12:30pm – 1:30pm Tuesday 13 November in the lecture theatre at the History Centre, come along, admission is free.

More information about the Lunchtime Club can be found on the History Centre website:
http://www.hullhistorycentre.org.uk/discover/hull_history_centre/whats_on/lunchtime_club.aspx

Food, Glorious Food

Not only did the men of Hull give their time to their own city, they also gave it to London.  In 1944 the wardens in London had been under such duress and all annual leave had been cancelled.  A call was made for assistance from other cities and Hull, having great experience, stepped forward.  Some went for just a few weeks, other went until their services were no longer needed.

In the records of the Warden Service, I have found copies of letters written by some of the men who went to London sent to members of the Warden Service back in Hull, letting them know how things were.  One of the biggest causes of excitement seems to be the food allowances!

J Longford, 19 August

“We arrived at our Depot about 5-10pm and after a clean up we were directed to the recreation hall where a long table was set out with plenty of plates full of tomatoes, cold potatoes, Russian Salad, and a liberal supply of ham, with a pudding to follow.  The Chief Warden was there, but like a sensible fellow he said tuck in and I will formally welcome you after the meal.”

On 20 August, he goes on to write,

“We were told that we obtain our tea at the Post, and supper at approx 8-30pm. at the Depot.  Mark those words well my noble William, those four words TEA AT THE POST.  I was mystified about this, but boy did I get a shock.  My co-full timer said ‘What would you like for tea?’ Well, being a polite sort of cove I gave a conventional reply, of I’ll have what you say.  Well, he got the tea ready.  A tin of salmon between the two of us, (it could have been tinned meat, sardines, herrings, corned beef) plenty of bread and margarine, jam and a slab of fruit cake which would not have gone in my haversack.  Of course I had been told during the morning that all posts were supplied with rations, but boy what rations.”

F. E. Baskerville, 20 August

“I have a permit for 1½ lbs. of tea, 3 lbs. of sugar and 20 pints of milk per week.  The Police Inspector, who is also the Chief Warden, gets this for me and I settle with him every Saturday.  We have an electric boiler in our billet and so we can make a cup of tea any time we like.  We have been issued with three teapots.” 

Veterans’ Weekend

We will be attending the Veterans’ Weekend at East Park with an exhibition about the Warden Service that will be on display 28-29^th July.  On Saturday 28^th only there will be pictures for sale and staff on hand to answer questions about the collection and the project.

Details for the Veterans Weekend, including a timetable of events can be found here:

http://search3.openobjects.com/kb5/hull/events/event.page?record=sCF1-LAdtaA

With the volunteer sessions now well under way BBC Radio Humberside came to the History Centre talk to us for a follow up piece on the 16^th July.  There are now over 8000 personnel cards numbered and over 1500 entries in the database.  We hope to start making this data available to the public towards Christmas.

A Hub of Activity

The volunteer sessions are now underway.  We have had 40 of our 80 volunteers come in so far and they have numbered nearly 3000 personnel cards and input over 500 of these onto our database (not yet live). 

Cloths and brushes are also out with preservation work having begun.  We have recently identified another series of records, still in their original boxes, that are prime candidates for this.



During the second volunteer session, the Hull Daily Mail paid a visit to the History Centre and produced a very positive piece about the project that can be found here:

http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Meet-volunteers-trawling-Hull-s-Second-World-War/story-16375931-detail/story.html

Logistical Operations

The logistics of the volunteer organisation is about done and the teams have been organised.  Due to the response, there will be eight teams, two a week, operating on a monthly timetable.

Letters will be going out this week with details and dates of which group you’re in and when you will be starting.

We look forward to getting things underway after the Jubilee week.

New Find

In recognition of the anniversary of the Hull Blitz of May 1941, I have found this document issued by the Chief Warden Robert G. Tarran thanking the members of Hull’s Warden Service for their endeavours during those difficult days.

Hull Steps Forward

Despite the weather, we had an overwhelming turn out to the volunteer taster day on Tuesday 17th April.  Over 150 people came across the two sessions and we had 114 application forms filled in on the day.

I would like to say a huge thank you to the staff involved and to all the people who came to support the project.

The next step is to go through the application forms and decide how we will roll out the volunteer programme in light of this tremendous response.

A Call To Arms

The North East Town Revealed WW2 project is now ready for volunteers. 

On Tuesday 17 April, we are holding two taster sessions for people to come and see how they can get involved in the project.  These are 10am to 12 noon and repeated 2pm to 4pm, these are open sessions so there is no need to book.

A description of the volunteer role and more information on the taster sessions can be found on the History Centre website.

The Archivist's Progress

There is light at the end of the tunnel!  But only in terms of getting the personnel cards ready for indexing.  Working with the Access and Collections Manager we are in the process of finalising the tasks that we hope volunteers can undertake. 

I have spent some of this last week trying to get a grasp on the structure of the Civil Defence Corps and feel I am making headway.  Many organisations and companies today have a family tree style guide to their structure.  Unfortunately, there appears to have been no such thing for Hull’s Civil Defence Corps, but there is a lot of paperwork. 

The most easily accessible information I could find has been in the Council Minutes books of 1937-1938.  By the end of this project, this should not be the case.  

Introduction to the Archivist

As the archivist appointed to work on North East Coast Town Revealed: Hull’s Second World War Records, I would like to introduce myself.  My name is Victoria and I have previously worked at Durham County Record Office where I catalogued records of the Durham Light Infantry.  This collection spans many wars from the 1800s to the 1960s, with a substantial number of records relating to soldiers in the First and Second World Wars.

I am therefore pleased to have been given this opportunity to build on my experience and work with records from the Home Front and to learn about the experiences of Hull during the Second World War.  In cataloguing these records I hope to bring them to a wider audience by increasing their accessibility and revealing stories of endurance of the city and its people. 

My first steps have been to start going through the numerous personnel cards for the Warden Service and sorting them for the mammoth, but hugely beneficial, task of indexing the names.  We will shortly be putting out a call for volunteers to help us in this so keep checking back for further information.

Victoria Oxberry, Project Archivist, Hull City Archives at Hull History Centre

North East Coast Town Revealed: Hull’s Second World War Records

The National Cataloguing Grants programme is administered on behalf of several trusts by The National Archives with grant award decisions being made by a specially convened independent Cataloguing Grants Panel. Hull History Centre has successfully secured one of the 12 grants issued this year which will enable the Centre to employ an Archivist for 12 months to fully catalogue records created by various departments from within Hull City Council. The records of departments such as:

• Town Architects Department 
• Education Department 
• Treasurer’s Department 
• Town Clerk Department 
• City Engineers Department 
• Records of Wartime Emergency Services 

These records allow us to understand the hardships endured by the people of Hull during the War and reveal their gallantry and resourcefulness during the daily struggles they faced. The project will deepen our understanding of the problems encountered and solutions found by those tasked with not only preserving life, but coming to the aid of those affected by the raids.

The project will give us the opportunity to work closely with volunteers who will help to index the records, repackage files and volumes, and digitise photographs. The resulting on line catalogues will allow the public to search for individuals or streets in much greater depth than is currently available and visit the Centre to view any relevant documents.

This is an exciting project which will highlight the devastation wreaked on Hull during the Second World War and demonstrate the resilience of its citizens on the home front when faced with such traumas. It is surprising for a city so heavily bombed during the war that these records have even survived.

Carol Tanner Access & Collections Manager, Hull City Archives at Hull History Centre