LONDON VOLUNTEERS IN MUSEUMS AWARDS 2015 FOREWORD Museums both large and small are amongst the greatest assets we have in our city, offering insights into history and the wider world. Volunteers have a crucial role to play in their success, offering knowledge and enthusiasm that help make them custodians of these wonderful institutions. Our own Team London programme recognises the importance of volunteering in the capital and we should all applaud all the dedicated individuals picking up this year’s London Volunteers in Museums Awards. Boris Johnson Mayor of London ‘Over the past few years we have supported London’s volunteers and Volunteer Managers through our training programmes and by offering advice and support to the network and awards steering group. We are delighted this year to provide funding towards the LVMA awards ceremony, such an important event recognising the contribution that volunteers make to museums across London.’ LONDON VOLUNTEERS IN MUSEUMS AWARDS 2015 Ben Travers Regional Museum Development Manager BEST TEAM WINNER: This nomination is for a team who have From autumn 2006 to March 2015, our HIGHLY COMMENDED: Their collaborative enthusiasm for the Without the enthusiasm and commitment Warship Conservation Team, been working to preserve HMS Belfast Warship Conservation Volunteers have Archaeology Online Team, subject is infectious and their output for the of the Props and Costumes team, London Imperial War Museum – a unique survivor of Britain’s maritime collectively donated over 29,000 hours LAARC (Museum of London) Museum is of an incredibly high standard. Transport Museum would not be able to heritage. volunteering in support of the conservation The team has taken huge ownership and offer this level of personal engagement (HMS Belfast) plan; most recently restoring the gun The Museum of London’s Archaeological invested in the project and they work with and facilitation to families outside school During the past year there have been The Imperial War Museum was director and currently working on the boat Archive is part of the Museum’s energy beyond expectation. holidays. We are delighted that their some major changes to the structure of planned before the First World War crane whilst another small sub team has Archaeology Department. Based at contribution is being recognised through the Conservation department of the ship been digitising original drawings of the ship Mortimer Wheeler House in Hackney, Props and Costumes these awards. had even come to an end and first leaving only a Conservation Manager and opened to visitors in 1920. Today and making operation and maintenance it holds information concerning nearly Volunteers, two museum technicians to preserve the 8,500 archaeological sites that have been RUNNERS-UP: Imperial War Museums (IWM) manuals available. London Transport Museum last of Britain’s big gun armoured ships investigated in Greater London over the focuses on the causes, course and from World War II and the Cold War era. The team are also involved with special The London Transport Museum is based in Centre for Human Bioarchaeology past 100 years. Museum of London consequences of conflicts involving events hosted by HMS Belfast and man Covent Garden and has a large volunteer Volunteers, The move to create a Warship Conservation an information centre where they explain The Archaeology Online volunteer team who get involved in all areas of the Britain and its Commonwealth volunteer team to support staff was no Christina Broom Volunteers, since 1914. Across five branches to visitors what is being done to preserve project seeks to get the World’s Largest museum. Museum of London Docklands easy feat and it shows the dedication of the Archaeological Archive online, one artefact of IWM more than 1,000 volunteers the ship, how work is carried out and The Props and Costumes volunteers are volunteers that they persevered to make the at a time. Since last October Guy, John Collections Volunteer Team, what pieces of equipment are currently part of the learning department and are are involved in front of house and transition work. Staff and volunteers now and Sunny have formed a dedicated team Bethlem Museum of the Mind undergoing treatment. an excellent example of what volunteers behind the scenes roles including: work closely together to ensure that this who have continued to offer their time and can achieve when they work together! As e-Mesozoic Volunteer Team, Collections Support, IWM ambitious project plan is successfully met. patience throughout the year to digitise a team, they have created a facilitated Natural History Museum Members Recruitment, Interaction, our collection. Importantly their experience costume programme for family visitors to Specialist Office Support, Visitor means that they are the first Archaeology Front of House Volunteer Gallery help bring characters from the past to life. Orientation Briefings, and Warship Online team to move beyond digitisation, Assistant Team, Orleans House Gallery They researched the characters, helped to and to start researching the wider context Conservation. decide on the format of the sessions and Garden Volunteers, and insights the objects provide using are now out on the galleries delivering the Museum of the Order of St. John corresponding archaeological records. activities and also training newer members Garden Team, Vestry House Museum The team are a fantastic example of how, of the team. despite being given a highly individualistic Jewish Military Museum Volunteer What makes this team stand out is their task, they have gone out of their way Team, Jewish Museum /Jewish Military commitment to the programme and their to engage with each other as a team, Museum teamwork. They have set up a Facebook working together to strengthen each group to keep in contact with each other; Mike Sullivan & John Richardson, other’s understanding and completion taking responsibility to keep each other RAF Museum of tasks. This takes many forms from the informed when they are unable to come in simple encouragement of how best to Poppies Volunteers, and supporting new members of the team. edit an image in Photoshop, or supporting Tower of London (Historic Royal Palaces) The team are also really keen to make the each other in reading and understanding programme the best it can be, suggesting some of our unconventional and confusing improvements and happily trialling new archaeological records when researching methods to help activities run smoothly and the context of these objects. Warship Conservation Team from left to right: Sarah Nibloe, Geoff Lewis, Vic Ould, Sumit Kaura, guarantee visitor enjoyment. Laurence Gunzi and Joseph Cheung. BRINGING INNOVATION WINNER: HIGHLY COMMENDED: now around 5 years forward on dealing with the catalogue. But a dedicated sub group Sarah Griffin, . Ashlyn Oprescu, the issue of lighting. double checked 100% meticulously. They Museum of the Charles Dickens Museum have given 24,800 hours overall, and kept 1915 Crew Lists Transcription the project going when deadlines loomed. Order of St. John The Charles Dickens Museum holds e-volunteers, They have become online friends and, The Museum tells the story of the the world’s most important collection of Royal Museums Greenwich crucially, we know many will help again with material relating to the great novelist and Order of St. John from its origins Designed to recognise and commemorate the next e-project. social campaigner. It was in this house that in eleventh century Jerusalem, the contribution of the merchant navy he achieved lasting celebrity and universal RUNNERS-UP: through to its role today with St. in the First World War, the 1915 Crew recognition as one of the world’s greatest John Ambulance and the St John Lists Transcription Project used remote Alice Walker, Natural History Museum storytellers. volunteers to index approximately 39,000 Eye Hospital in Jerusalem. The Interaction Volunteer Team Museum’s small team of staff are Ashlyn volunteers at the Museum as a merchant navy crew lists from the year Imperial War Museums (All branches) supported by over 85 volunteers Conservation Assistant; she has been 1915. These lists are held mostly at the who preserve and conserve the an invaluable support on all matters of National Maritime Museum but also at The Kirstin Sibley & Richard Waters conservation in the Museum – from pest National Archives and the project was joint William Morris House / history and heritage of the Order trap checking, housekeeping, exhibition with The National Archives. Vestry House Museum and ensure that the collections and installation and object re-housing projects. historic sites are accessible to the Between 2012 and early 2015, over Johnston Journeys Volunteer Team, public. In early 2015, Ashlyn picked up on the issue 400 e-volunteers from around the world London Transport Museum Sarah running her school workshop: ‘Mystery in the Museum’ of light in our Museum: visitors found it downloaded photographs of individual Learning Volunteers, Museum of Sarah is currently studying for an MSc hard to see, but we were also far exceeding 1915 crew lists and transcribed the Brands, Advertising and Packaging in Conservation for Archaeology and appropriate light levels for the sensitive information they contained into an online Museums at University College London and objects we have on display. She decided catalogue, using their home computers. Stephen White, Museum of London has been volunteering at the Museum since to take this on as her dissertation project Volunteers have captured each seaman’s Thomas Flynn, January 2014. for an MA in preventative conservation. Name, Rating, Age and Place of Birth, and Horniman Museum and Gardens From the outset, Sarah expressed a So far this year she has invested over 250 Previous Ship. This last category allows keen interest in interpreting conservation hours in monitoring the light in the Museum family historians to research a seaman’s Time Explorer Volunteers, practices and providing the Museum’s using a range of equipment (some kindly career ‘backwards’ through the lists.