Page 15 - QARANC Vol 14 No 11 2015

Corps Heritage Matters
Memorials,
headstones and
artworks project
One of the projects agreed by the new QARANC Association Heritage Committee at its first meeting is to collect together information and photographs about memorials, headstones, artworks and other artefacts that portray or memorialise British Army nurses.
We recognise that there are a number of unofficial websites that collect this kind of information, but not everyone is able to access these, and we want this information to be accessible to as many people as possible by using a dedicated website to support the work of the Heritage Committee. (www. britisharmynurses.com) Some of the work on this project has already started, so please take a look at the website to see the information as it grows over time. You will be able to sign up for an email newsletter to keep up with the changes. We are looking for good quality photographs, preferably digital, of any of the following:
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstones to British Army nurses from anywhere in the UK and the rest of the world. The CWGC does not hold photographs of the majority of graves.
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials to British Army nurses from anywhere in the UK and the rest of the world. We would like photographs of the memorial itself, and close up photographs of the names engraved on the memorial.
• Other headstones identified as being those of British Army nurses from anywhere in the UK and the rest of the world.
• Plaques and memorials in churches and other public
buildings.
• Stained glass windows in churches and other public
buildings.
• War memorials where any British Army nurse is mentioned.
We would like photographs of the memorial itself, and close
up photographs of the names engraved on the memorial.
• The location of artwork in any collection that depicts British Army nurses. This can be a painting in any medium, a print, photograph or any other piece of art from anywhere in the
world.
If you take a photograph, please ensure you obtain permission to do so if necessary, as in many museums and art galleries and other public buildings photography is not allowed in order to protect the exhibits from light. If you are unable to take a photo or do not have permission to do so, we are still interested in documenting the information about the object and its location, so please still send the information. For any photograph that you send, please add as much contextual information as you can about the location, building, artist and so on. In this way we can build a comprehensive database of information that will be publically available and most importantly, is historically verifiable. Photographs should be sharply focussed colour digital images if possible, and should be accompanied by a declaration that you allow them to be published on the website. A photograph of a headstone should show the engraving clearly, and any other photograph
should be clear enough to show some detail. By all means include yourself or other people in the photograph, however, the headstone or other artefact should not be obscured in any way. (but please – no selfies!) You can send more than one photograph to give us a choice of what to publish on the website.
An example of the kind of photograph that you could send us is one taken in 2011 of a QAIMNS headstone located in King Tom CWGC Cemetery in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The headstone commemorates Sister Jane Margaret Houston QAIMNS who died on 12 December 1940. I am most grateful to Maj Lynda Ricketts QARANC, who provided the photograph and features in it placing the poppy cross. It just shows that a chance conversation waiting for a presentation to start at DANS Conference can be most productive! You can read more about Sister Houston on the website.
Please send your information to: contact@britisharmynurses.com
You can also use the email address to ask any questions or
raise any comments or concerns.
We look forward to working with all regular, reserve and
retired members of the Corps on our first Heritage Committee project. Please look in your local art galleries, churches, cemeteries and war memorials and let us know if you find anything!
Alison Spires, TD, Maj (Rtd)
QARANC Association Heritage Committee
THE GAZETTE QARANC 13