A Soldier's Diary

[MelPack]

Hello

Various relatives of mine have in their possession our grandfather's 1914-1915 Trio, his war photographs and his personal war diary.

George Waites enlisted in May 1915 and was sent to France in December 1915 to replenish the 8th Batallion Royal Berks after the Battle of Loos. He served with the 8th until wounded twice on the Somme. When he had recovered from his wounds, he joined the 1st Royal Berks in May 1917 and served with them until March 1919.

His war diary was compiled from notes that he had taken during the war and read rather like a travelogue. In terms off accuracy they correlate almost exactly with the online Batallion diaries provided by the Wardrobe ( the Regimental museum).

I would like to gather all the items from the various relatives and have them donated on their behalf to the Regimental museum so that they can be conserved. I intend to compile a CD Rom for family members so that each can retain a memento. The museum also has the advantage in that all of its holdings are on online.

I would be very interested in the opinions of forum members about my proposal so that I can print off the thread to show to my relatives at a forthcoming family gathering.

Thanks in advance.

regards

Mel

PS If anyone is interested in a pdf copy of the diary you can PM me with your email address.

[ororkep]

I have seen many similar things donated to such institutions and have recently come across some in the NA . However with the donation remember also goes the copyright, and along with it the new owner’s right to charge for the privilege of viewing or copying etc if they so wish. I take it this is not what you particularly have in mind but just want to preserve his memory and make freely available the information to all interested parties for as far into the future as possible, whislt keeping the records safe. Therfore your donation should perhaps contain certain clauses with it to this effect.

Paul

[SilverSoldier]

Mel.

I should imagine The Regimental Museum and it's Curator would be absolutely delighted with your Grandfather's Diary and Photographs etc.

One Regimental Soldier's 'Window' on his experiences during his service in WW1, it can only serve as a valuable addition to the Regimental archive. Such items are only too often dispersed and eventually lost to the Nation and indeed historians.

Good Luck.

Terry W.

[Jonathan Saunders]

Normally I would advise against this but the men behind The Wardrobe (choice expression) are great students of the regiments and would, I expect, appreciate and put this collection to good use.

But beware that CDs have a limited life span!! I expect the cheaper we can buy them the less longer they will last!

[westkent78]

I'd usually advise against it as the fate of many such donations is to lie in a draw forgotten for many years. However, as Jon has already mentioned, the Wardrobe seem to be at the forefront of making their archives accessible online and they seem to be actively using the material in their care so I don't see any problems there. Far better to have all of his medals and ephemera in one place than scattered throughout the family where piece by piece the collection may become lost and if you can't convince them that you should be the guardian of the whole lot then the museum would be the next best place.

Best regards,

Matthew

[Desmond7]

Take some time .. key it in ... add pics where possible. Knock yourself up a wee website. Put a link to this forum.

Certainly museums are good. but make sure you have a proper loan document if you fear it will be mis-used/not made available.

At least with this website/web generally it will be available for people who really want to know more?

My suggestions.

Des

[themonsstar]

I will go with Des, go for a website & enjoy it,

[Arthur J]

Lots of good advice above, I would also suggest you go and meet the curator of the museum and talk over the options, especially the question of copyright. If the diaries are worthy of publication, either in whole or part, retain the right of acknowledgement – this suggestion is not necessarily money orientated, but it could be important.

Would also suggest that you loan the items, thus retaining ownership in the family, and the right to retrieve if at any time you, or family wish.

But whatever you agree GET IT IN WRITING

[Owen D]

You've a few days to decide because The Curator is, to quote the site,

"............... going on holiday until 26th June"

[Christina]

Hi Mel

I definitely would donate everything to the museum, at least that way it is all retained. All too often when things are passed down they only go so far and someone sells the stuff and it is lost. Unfortunately not all relatives treasure these things. By donating them everyone who is interested has access to the information and your relative's service to his country is remembered.

Regards Christina

[Guest KevinEndon]

On the side of caution can I say that military museums have little room for displays and their store rooms are full of the items you have listed. Speak to the curator but I feel that they will gladly accept the items then placed in a box along with 100's of other trios and war diaries never to see the light of day again. The idea of a website sounds brilliant and if you have the time add to the website what your relative was doing on that date i.e 7/6/16 stayed in tonight then on the same date add that detail to your website, that way it will keep people coming back time after time.

Hope you solve your wee dilema

[MelPack]

Thanks for all of your responses.

It is time to deploy eloquence and persuasion!

Regards

Mel