Page 120 - Mercian Eagle 2014

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The Mercian Regiment Museum
(Worcestershire)
by Bob Prophet, Mark Jackson and John Paddock
The Museum in Worcester goes from strength to strength thanks to the hard work of the Trustees, the professional Curator and his new admin assistant, the myriad Volunteers and, of course, ‘The Friends’ The Trustees now number eleven (including two ex-officio Trustees) having recently welcomed Neil Mackintosh as Treasurer and Doug Lucas as Sales and Marketing guru. Each Trustee brings great commitment
and a particular skill to the Board and the Chairman ensures that nobody is idle. Dr John Paddock has settled in well as Curator and has shown himself to have been a
wise choice for the post: his expertise
in the world of Museums (Musea for the purist!) has stood him in good stead and
he has guided, instructed and cajoled us admirably over the past twelve months. His knowledge of regimental history increases daily and his knowledge of military history is exceptional. One of John’s tasks is to liaise with the many Museum authorities and his latest task was to arrange to improve the showcase lighting. The Gallery has suffered from poor and unreliable lighting for some time and the City and County Museum Service has at last installed new lighting in the showcases. John’s work-load, however, has become too much and with various new projects the Trustees have decided
to employ an admin assistant to help him. Pamela Langford was selected from a cast of many – not least because she can file, type and administer: her degree in History
and a Masters in Museum Studies were quite coincidental. Pamela’s tasks include returning the administration to the tidy
and organised state in which it was kept
in Norton Barracks and administering the Appeal. We have no shortage of knowledge and expertise!
effort), cataloguing the medal collection and writing up the military career of each medal holder (which John Barker has been doing alone, thoroughly and meticulously since 1995; so that enquiries can be answered with total accuracy), catching up on the backlog and packing and labelling of artefact documentation, keeping the
complex computer network running and comprehensible, keeping the accounts, managing the shop stock, researching the market and representing the Museum at a number of History fairs around the county – and they all have to make
their own cups of tea or coffee! The final group behind the scenes is ‘The Friends’ without whose enthusiasm and support the Museum would be somewhat short. Last year, we were very fortunate to recruit a new Trustee with 30 years’ experience at the British Museum, Andrew Oddy OBE. He has taken it upon himself to re-vitalise ‘The Friends’ by forming a committee and by producing, almost single-handedly,
four issues of the Friends’ Newsletter. Andrew’s notes on ‘The Friends’ appear elsewhere in this Journal. The Museum
has made a number of new acquisitions during the year including Official Regimental returns and correspondence with Lord Cathcart (1794 and 1795), the effects of Sgt William Johnson (1795), a Soldier’s Book of Common Prayer and the diary of Pte J Collins 3rd Bn The Worcestershire Regiment (1916/17). In addition, a number of photographs have been donated.
The major project in the Museum this year is the Appeal. The support and long- term commitment to the Museum has
been sought from all whom the Museum can contact. It has such a key role to play both now and in the future preserving the heritage of our Regiments and educating future generations about the extraordinary sacrifices and contributions which they have made over the centuries to our history. As the Army shrinks and we lose the last Regimental TA Centre in Worcestershire, the Museum will be the very last permanent element of the very, very thin “golden thread” which links the Regiment with
Volunteers have appeared from nowhere during the year although John Lowles, John Paddock and Andrew Oddy have performed many a pincer movement on the Worcester Volunteer Centre. Some twenty four volunteers now use their multiple skills for the benefit of the Museum in Dancox House or in the Foregate
Street Gallery. Many
of the jobs which they
undertake so willingly
must be very humdrum
or routine but they
are all necessary and
they undertake them
with good humour and
persistence. Without
them, the Museum
would flounder. Their skills include answering research enquiries (which Pat Love and Roger Richards have been doing, thoroughly and meticulously, for some 25 years. One of the purposes of The Museum is to help members of the public with enquiries and over 160 such enquiries have been received in the first eight months of the year: whilst this brings in much-needed income, it takes a great deal of time and
Some twenty four volunteers now use their multiple skills for the benefit of the Museum...
Pamela Langford
THE MERCIAN EAGLE