Page 61 - The Gazette Autumn 2023

moved onto an online cataloguing system - CatalogIt. Over the following year we had a PhD student helping us to transition the records over, add photographs and reports. The cataloguing is an ongoing task and there are some items yet to be added. The catalogue allows us to store detailed information about items in the collection, photographs, scanned documents, location, acquisitions, disposal of items, loans, and where known, provenance.
We continue to move the stored collection into archival quality storage boxes and protect items individually with archival packaging. This will help to keep them clean as well as protecting restoration and repair work. Much of the silver, ceramics and linens are completed.
The strongroom in Robertson House is not ideal for pictures and paintings, but the next phase is to create a more protected environment for them too. Some items like the Centenary Bowl and the Epergne have had crates built to house them.
Other items like furniture that are in the public spaces of Robertson House are more difficult to protect, but measures have been taken where possible. For example, the table in the main hallway has had a custom glass top fitted, and the chairs in the main hallway have had ropes fitted to prevent their use.
In 2017 the Board of Trustees agreed to facilitate the purchase of heritage items by creating a Heritage Fund of £10,000 pa. The purpose of the Heritage Fund is the purchase of items that enable the Heritage Committee to research the story of an individual Army nurse, or Army nursing as a whole, and items which enhance the offering at the Museum of Military Medicine. Once research is completed, the items may be placed on loan to the Museum of Military
The purpose of the Heritage Fund is the purchase of items that enable the Heritage Committee to research the story of an individual Army nurse, or Army nursing as a whole
Medicine. The Heritage Fund can also be used for repair, restoration or conservation of items purchased with the Heritage Fund.
In the financial year just ended we have only made one purchase which was an album of water colours depicting Army nurses and VADs in World War One. The hammer price was £1,500 which rose to £2,040 after auction fees were added.
Part of collections management is the disposal of items which have no intrinsic or heritage value. There are many such items in the Heritage Collection. Some are standard mess silver-plated items, some brassware, some generic pictures and paintings and some ceramics. There are some items which are damaged beyond disposal by sale, including the majority of the silver-plated candelabra. These items will be donated to the School of Conservation, West Dean College for students to practice skills. The other items will be offered to Association members to purchase.
The items are being marked for sale in the online catalogue with the price we are asking. In addition, purchasers will also have to pay postage and packing if they are not collecting the items from Robertson House. All queries relating to items for sale will be dealt with by the curator and not by the office staff, and the curator will undertake
the packing and postage of items where this is required. A copy of the signed bill of sale will be uploaded to the catalogue to enable a complete
audit trail. Paintings
and Pictures
will not be
included until
next year. Any
items that we
cannot dispose
of in this way will go
to auction, but with the payment of auction fees, they are likely to sell for very little return to the Association.
Our Epergne
The Gazette QARANC Association 61
Purchasing Process
• Look at the For Sale folder in the online catalogue via https://catalogit.app. There is read-only access using: heritage@britisharmynurses.com and RobertsonHouse2019;
• Note the catalogue number of any item(s) you are interested in (and email the curator if you have any questions about an item);
• Email the curator and say what item(s) you are interested in and
whether you will collect or need them posting;
• The curator will send you an itemised bill of sale including
postage and packing if needed;
• If you are happy to go ahead you need to pay the money by
bank transfer to the Central Account of the Association and
send a signed copy of the bill of sale back to the curator;
• The items will then be posted or can be collected;
• The catalogue will be updated.
Storage in Robertson House