Just reading in a Business I.T. magazine at work - about a project to digitise "every item" in the Imperial War Museum. Mostly the article is about the Hardware, Software & systems used but a couple of interesting quotes are: ...helps it {IWM} to make money out of unique WW1 & WW11 films and photographs. The aim is to finish digitising the entire collection, then use the web site as a film sales site Hope this means we will be able to see all thier photo collection on-line at some time in the not too distant future and view/buy copies of thier collection of publications and .... and ..... Noel
Well all their periodicals are currently unavailable until next year at the earliest.... so I hope they're doing something with them because otherwise they're just sitting in a warehouse somewhere gathering dust. Very annoying.
Cheers Noel. They already have photographs online that you can purchase (They ain't cheap-about a fiver each I think). Rob (Ramacal) purchased some fascinating film footage of his Dads unit in Holland and I think Germany in 44-45 which is brilliant but I don't think it was cheap. I'll let him shock you with the price
There are three sound recordings regarding 13 para that I would like, but I was quoted £10 per reel, one recording was 7 reels!! I can't justify that... It's a long shot, but if anyone has them or is going the recordings are AutoID: 524336 ,ID No: 12417 AutoID: 525057 ,ID No: 13155 AutoID: 528587 ,ID No: 17079
Was aware that some photos are already available online but I also believe that they are not all online at present and I am hoping that eventually we will at least be able to view the thumbnails of them all (for free I hope). Also hopeing that the film section will be something like Pathe. More of a problem with publications - some people might belive that they could just copy the image to their hard disk without paying. (not me honest gov) Noel
There are three sound recordings regarding 13 para that I would like, but I was quoted £10 per reel, one recording was 7 reels!! I can't justify that... It's a long shot, but if anyone has them or is going the recordings are AutoID: 524336 ,ID No: 12417 AutoID: 525057 ,ID No: 13155 AutoID: 528587 ,ID No: 17079 Roody, that's not even the whole story. Its an additional ten pounds handling fee and an additional ten pounds per recording, then the price of CD's. So you're looking at around 90 quid there. It is free if you visit though, just you can't take a copy whilst there.
Encouraging news I reckon Noel. Hopefully a sign of a stronger drift towards more complete digitising of our national collections.
Thank goodness for that. The Director's period in charge of the Museum of Childhood obviously didn't teach her that boys like guns and the bigger the better, or perhaps she has a problem with that concept. I really do believe that military museums should be run by ex-military personnel.
I agree Rich. Those guns are the iconic image of the museum. What next? Take the guns off the Spits? Ban the 17-pounder? It's a War Museum for God's sake! Mike
Yes Mike, but it's going to be a war museum designed to make the luvvies and their highly paid architect friends feel good about themselves rather than one intended to show us what a bloody good job our forebears did. Isn't Norman Foster one of the gang who has done more damage to London than the Luftwaffe ? It's a former mental hospital for goodness sake. What better place for a war museum and why shouldn't it look like one ?
By God mate, sounds like you, me, Charlie Boy and Capt Sensible all singing from the same sheet! Mike
This with the guns dos'nt surprise me at all. The museum in my opinion has not been what it was for some years now. I know museums have to adapt with the times but I for one can't stand all these large theme boards with text you have to look over someones shoulder to try and read taking up all the valuable space. When I used to go with my father in the 50's (to see 'his' gun) the place was a veritable wonderland! crammed full with so much stuff you would'nt believe. Shame, Rob
A careful read of the article shows that (a) this was never more than a proposal, of the kind museums and public institutions receive all the time, (b) it came not from the IWM itself but from their subcontractor, (c) at no stage is there any indication that it was seriously considered, and (d) there is no evidence whatsoever that the proposal was provoked by a "dislike for guns." I've had the pleasure of working with IWM staff for some years now, and they've always impressed me with their professionalism and their commitment to the museum and its mission. Best, Alan
this was never more than a proposal Pretty much what I was thinking. "Museum looks at architectural proposals! Decides not to act on some!" Doesn't really make much of a story to me. I imagine they just couldn't resist the 'spikes/guns' punning headline...
By God mate, sounds like you, me, Charlie Boy and Capt Sensible all singing from the same sheet! Mike It looks like the forum now has a choir Regards Tom
The fact that the architects who dared to suggest the plan were subsequently appointed and perhaps more to the point, that the Directors had not clearly stipulated beforehand that the guns were to remain suggests that they weren't overly concerned by the idea of removing them (and of course steel scrap is on the way up again). Those guns are museum exhibits, not some bit of aesthetic frippery. Giving the tax-exile Foster free range to construct one of his grandiose greenhouses was always going to give rise to ideas intended to disconcert those more interested in substance than style. I'd rather be able to see the guns (indeed any guns) than be treated to a style statement intended to preserve the architect and the commissioning director's names on a stone tablet for ever.
Maybe if they just moved them a little bit, they could then be facing Brixton, I could then blow the crappy place to smithereens
IWM London does need some kind of tarting up though. It's been pretty unimpressive for more than a decade now, some great one-off exhibitions, but most of the collection and it's display is pretty stale & cramped. They seem to have walked that difficult path between displaying artifacts and being 'right on' rather uncertainly. And the building hasn't been big enough for ages, some of the exhibitions being squeezed into odd labyrinthine 'corridor' displays, presumably because of space. There's that 'we've got heaps of it round the back' feeling that they couldn't display anywhere near all they'd like to Eg.: The science museum went a bit wobbly for a while; too much interpretation and not enough actuality, but they seem to have bounced back of late and are now worth a visit again. Maybe it's a sign that the big museums are realising things got a bit vapid for the last few years and that the museum balance between kids/serious/touchy-feely/artifacts/explanation is better understood. I'd be as appalled as anyone if the IWM screwed it up royally, but they're not exactly getting it right at the moment anyway - a bit of a new broom might pay off. And who knows - they may begin making some connection between the Nazis and WW2 Germany again. Last time we visited we couldn't find a single reference to that connection.
