Churchill Archives Centre Blog

Letters home to mother

March 18th, 2013

Working at the Archives Centre, it is often through looking for material to use in displays that I come across collections that I didn’t know we had. Of course we have catalogues, or at least collection level descriptions, for most of our collections, but with nearly 600 individuals’ personal papers there is always the chance of discovering a collection you have never noticed before.

It was whilst looking for display material relating to Shanghai that I came across the papers of Sir Malcolm Robertson, a British diplomat working at the beginning of the 20th century. When serving as 2nd secretary of the Diplomatic Service in Peking (now Shanghai) in 1905 to 1908 Robertson wrote letters home to his mother. These letters are full of rich descriptions of Peking and his life there. In an early letter Robertson had even drawn a diagram of Peking, showing how it was split into two halves. It was this letter that I chose to use for display.

In the same box as the letters from China (1905-1908), there are also letters that Robertson wrote to his mother from Berlin in 1903-1905, Madrid in 1908-1910, Bucharest in 1910-1911, Rio de Janeiro in 1912, Monte Video in 1912-1913, and Rio de Janeiro again in 1913-1915. I am sure these letters will also be full of descriptions of the countries that Robertson travelled to, and I will definitely remember these if there is ever a need to find display materials relating to these countries.

One of the challenges of displaying early letters, such as Robertson’s letter to his mother from Peking, is that the paper was often folded in half and then the 4 sides were written on like it was a small booklet. This means the letter is double sided, and even if one side of the letter is scanned for display as a facsimile, it is sometimes hard to see what order it should be read in. Thankfully, our onsite conservator kindly made a facsimile of the letter to look like the original, so it could be read as originally intended without putting the original at risk from handling.

The catalogue of the papers of Sir Malcolm Robertson is available online, on the Janus website.

Madelin Terrazas, March 2013

Tags: Sir Malcolm Robertson
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“Use Stylus Pressure Not in Excess of 2 Ounces”

March 11th, 2013

Since 2010, one of the college audiovisual technicians and I have been involved in a slightly scary project to digitise some of our audio recordings – those originating on shellac, lacquer or vinyl discs.

This project has been a success and we have learnt an awful lot about the format and the process of conservation and copying. It has also lead to interest from the BBC (after they initially responded to a blog post about the project in April 2011). Consequently, Juniper TV came to the Archives Centre last week to record a programme for BBC Radio Four’s ‘Archive on 4’, due to be aired on July 6th 2013.

Most of the recordings are from the 1940s-50s (though a few are from the 30s), many are from Churchill’s own record collection, and those prioritised were generally the instantaneous discs (known as lacquers or acetates). These are one-off or rare recordings and are also the most physically vulnerable as the lacquer coating (usually cellulose nitrate) degrades very quickly, eventually fracturing and peeling away from the core of the disc.

First, the conservation
Each disc was assessed, tested for reaction to water and if possible cleaned with deionised water and a non-ionic detergent used by conservators. Discs were wetted, avoiding the paper labels, and surface dirt and bloom were also mechanically removed with the gentle action of soft round-ended nylon bristles. The discs were then thoroughly rinsed in pure deionised water before air drying. When completely dry they were placed into archival envelopes and boxes.

Disc from the Julian Amery collection, before conservation, showing typical deterioration of cellulose nitrate. The plasticiser (castor oil) has leached out onto the surface to form a greasy layer in combination with accumulated dirt.

The same disc after conservation cleaning!

Then the copying.
A professional turn table was used with special styli designed for coarse groove discs. The size and shape of the diamond stylus used for each disc was dependant upon the age and condition of the disc. Very light weight was used, though this was adjustable if necessary. As it turned out, all the lacquer discs so far captured have been 78s and have played from outside to inside, though this is not always the case. Information on the labels or original packaging often advises the user to use ‘special’ or trailing needles’ and to use ‘light-weight pick-up’. One recording supplied several ‘special’ needles, taped to the sleeve – now very rusty!

I handled the discs onto the player wearing gloves while the audiovisual technician, Chris, did the clever techie stuff to turn the analogue sound into digital and capture it into an uncompressed format to accepted archival standards. Chris became very expert at finding ways around chipped shellac, jumps, bumps or run-in grooves which could send the stylus too enthusiastically into the recording! All the while, we had to be aware that the grooves (or more strictly, the groove as there is usually only one continuous groove) were soft and not designed for repeated playback.

Chris, monitoring the sound all the way through the copying process.

Sarah Lewery, Conservator

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Image of the Month

March 4th, 2013

For March’s Image of the Month we mark both the 25th anniversary of the merger of the SDP with the Liberal Party and also this month’s Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race, all in one political cartoon from a long-forgotten election fought in Newcastle by the Liberals in 1880.

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Dark Lady of DNA goes digital

March 4th, 2013

Some time last year the papers of Rosalind Franklin, the crystallographer whose X-ray diffraction images of DNA led directly to the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953, were digitised.

This digitisation project forms part of the Wellcome Library’s shared online resource for the history of genetics, Codebreakers:Makers of Modern Genetics.

The papers of the pioneers of modern genetics, also including Crick and Watson and Maurice Wilkins, have been collected together for the first time and made freely available in this £3.9million project. The archive contains over a million pages of first-hand notes, letters, sketches, lectures, photographs and essays from the circle of brilliant minds responsible for uncovering the structure of DNA. The site lays bare the personal and professional thoughts, rivalries, blind alleys and breakthroughs of the scientists whose ideas transformed our understanding of the matter of life.

Besides the Archives Centre’s contribution, collections from the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, University of Glasgow, King’s College London, UCL (University College London) and the Wellcome itself have all been gathered together. The vast collections contain both iconic documents, such as Crick’s preliminary sketches of the double helix and Franklin’s x-ray diffraction ‘photo 51’, and everyday exchanges; complex research notes and personal ephemera. The biological revolutions of the 50s and 60s are recorded in the scientists’ own words and intellectual influences and legacies, including the archive of the Eugenics Society, provide context for the complicated historical development of ideas around heredity and genetics.

Tags: Rosalind Franklin
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Saying Grace at Churchill College

February 5th, 2013

This week I was asked to provide the correct form of the grace in use at Churchill College. I asked Dr Frank King, Praelector at Churchill College and Chairman of our Archives Committee, for help in determining the exact wording for the grace. On his advice I went to the Dining Hall in search of the ‘Grace Boards’ – small wooden framed versions of the Grace which are used as an aide memoire by the person saying grace and are kept in the kitchen office. Tara Fraser, in charge of the Dining Hall, kindly gave me a slightly tatty Grace Board to add to the college archive:

College Grace Board.

I wanted to write an accurate and informative catalogue description for my new arrival, so back I went to Dr King. He exceeded my expectations with the full explanations he provided:

Who is responsible for saying Grace?

By custom, Grace is said by the Master, if present. In the absence of the Master, Grace is said by the Senior Fellow present and, if no Fellows are present, then the Senior Member present says Grace.

I have avoided using the term “presiding” but whoever says Grace is, de facto, presiding. This is the person that the catering staff will ask for instructions (for example when to finish).

All Churchill M.A.s have dining rights as indeed do many others and I can imagine a quiet night when the Master is away and no Fellows are present when the handful dining have to decide amongst themselves who says Grace!

When is the long grace used, and who decides which form to use?

Hmmmm! A good deal of personal taste and preference goes into the mix on this one. The short answer is:

The long Grace is used at the start of a Feast or other special dinners. The short Grace is used before other meals when there is a High Table.

Hermann Bondi {Master of Churchill College, 1983-1990], as an atheist, refused to say the long grace on ANY occasion. He was happy with Benedictus benedicat because that is essentially a secular grace. It definitely doesn’t mention God in any form!

My standpoint is quite different. I never miss an opportunity to declaim in Latin and would always use the long form even if I found I was the only person dining in!!!

A couple of times a term, I host the lunches that we give to Graduands before they go to the Senate-House to collect degrees. I use the long grace on those occasions even though it is lunch rather than dinner.

That’s not just to satisfy my own fancies but also to set the scene for what is to follow. The Graduands and their Mums and Dads are going to spend the better part of an hour in the Senate-House listening to Latin so I start things off as they are going to go on!

Moreover, I like to act out the part. At the “dona tua” I hold up a bread roll and at the “salubriter nutriti” I pat my tummy! I want my clients to know what’s happening!

With many thanks to Dr King for his help,
Natalie Adams, Churchill College Archive

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Film and theatre stars in the archives

February 5th, 2013

The Churchill Archive Centre has created a wide-ranging archive of the Churchill era and after. Its collection policy is to bring together the private papers of the politicians, service-chiefs, diplomats, civil servants, scientists and technologists who have shaped the history of our recent past.

However as two collections within our archives show this can be misleading as not all of material we hold relates to political, military, scientific or diplomatic matters. A selection of material on display at the Centre shows some gems from the world of show business hidden within our collections.

The Papers of Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos (1893-1972) are an example of the wide ranging items in the Churchill Archives Centre. Lord Chandos’ papers are part of our collection because he was a contemporary of Churchill (and a member of his War Cabinet), a businessman and public servant. However in later life he served as the first Chairman of the Board of the National Theatre from 1962-71, and was its President until his death. His mother, Dame Edith Lyttelton, had lobbied for the foundation of a national theatre in London and was a member of the Executive Committee of the Shakespeare Memorial National Theatre.

His papers contain material relating to the founding of the National and include correspondence with stars from the theatre. One of my particular favourites is a copy of a letter that the actor Sir Laurence Olivier (1907-1989) sent to Prime Minister Harold Wilson in 1967 explaining his reasons for declining an offer of a peerage. The distinguished actor was the National Theatre’s first artistic director. The letter was sent to Lord Chandos along with a handwritten note from Olivier. Despite this refusal he later accepted another offer of a peerage, in 1970, and became Lord Olivier of Brighton.

The Lord Chandos collection demonstrates how in a lifetime these important figures cover all fields of public life and can amass a variety of items in their archive.

Another collection which highlights the wide ranging material at the Archives Centre is the Papers of Jack Le Vien (1918-1999). As a film producer Le Vien’s collection is quite different from the other collections in the archive, but still holds its importance as material relating to the ‘Churchill era and beyond’.

Le Vien’s company, Le Vien International Productions, made many films based on Sir Winston Churchill’s life including The Other World of Winston Churchill (1966), Walk with Destiny (also called The Gathering Storm) (1974), and Churchill and the Generals (1979).

The collection includes correspondence, papers and photographs relating to the films on Churchill’s war memoirs. As a film producer Jack Le Vien corresponded with film stars to arrange meetings or offer them parts in his productions. His papers include replies and telegrams from film stars including David Niven, Peter Sellars, Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Marlene Dietrich and Noel Coward.

Le Vien’s papers also include material relating to the production of his films on Churchill’s life including papers and production photographs. My particular favourite in the collection is a medical certificate required for the insurance on actor Richard Burton (1925-1984) who played Churchill in The Gathering Storm. Burton was as famous for his turbulent personal life and heavy drinking as he was for his acting and the medical certificate records this with the examiner noting the actor’s ‘slight liver damage’.

Philip Cosgrove

Tags: Jack Le Vien, Oliver Lyttelton
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This month’s image – from the mummy’s tomb

February 1st, 2013

To celebrate the unsealing of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb on 16 February 1923, 90 years ago, our latest Image of the Month shows “an ebony bed being brought out of Lord Carnarvon’s tomb”. No mummies, though, sadly.

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New Image of the Month

January 3rd, 2013

2013′s Image of the Month kicks off in a very frosty way, with a stunning image from the papers of the molecular biologist Max Perutz, taken while he was studying glaciers in the Bernese Oberland in the 1940s.

Tags: Max Perutz
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New Image of the Month

December 3rd, 2012

December’s Image of the Month is, we admit, a Christmas card, but not a very Christmassy one. It comes courtesy of the Ulster Unionists in 1912, and is part of their campaign against Home Rule for Ireland.

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New Image of the Month

November 1st, 2012

An unusually elegant Image of the Month for November, highlighting the papers of one of the first women MPs, Florence Horsbrugh.

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