My research entailed scanning Annual Reports, scrap books, publication archives and photographic collections for the years 1914 to 1918 and picking out interesting items of news concerning staff and exhibitions.
However, the
first thing I did was to warn everyone that in 1914 this is what we looked
like….
Therefore, during the years while construction of the building was in progress, administration was carried out in offices close by at Park Place and the Kingsway area while exhibitions were held in temporary galleries next door in City Hall.
Archibald H. Lee, the Museum Secretary, who saw active military service and was decorated with the Military Cross after fighting at Gaza. He returned to work after the war and remained Museum Secretary for 44 years, finally retiring in 1953. He appears in many photographs of special events and royal visits over the years.
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| Archibald H Lee |
Cyril Mortimer Green, who was appointed as Botanical Assistant, but never took up his post. He held a Commission in the 3rd Royal Sussex Regiment, went abroad to fight and was killed on active military duty in November 1917. His death is all the more poignant because, not only did he never take up his position at the Museum, his brother Hugh Mortimer Green had also been killed on active duty back in 1915.
Click here [and scroll down] for more information on Cyril and his brother.
Eleanor Vachell, spirited and
outstanding amateur botanist who stepped in to take charge of the botany
collections, while Cyril Mortimer Green was absent on military duty. She did
this, with the help of pupils from Cardiff High School for Girls, whilst also supporting
the war effort as one of the ‘Committee
Ladies of the Auxiliary Workers Territorial Forces Nursing Association’ at the
hospital set up in Howard Gardens, working as both nurse and librarian.
 |
| Eleanor Vachell |
I also looked at the
problems faced in the construction of the building due to a lack of basic
materials that had been re-allocated for the war effort. The progress must have
been excruciatingly slow and all material orders had to apply via license
applications to The Ministry of Munitions and the Report for 1917/18 reports
that work was suspended completely for a time…
Unfortunately it has become necessary to suspend work
on the New Building, and an agreement terminating the contract has been entered
into with the builders, Messrs J. Willcock & Son. The roof had already been
completed and the windows have been filled with oiled canvas so that the
structure is now weather proof… Some of the rooms in the New Building are
already in use for storage of specimens. NMW Annual Report p. 9
 |
| Construction of the dome section |
One of the most enjoyable
parts of researching this talk was looking at the exhibitions that were held
through the war years. War notwithstanding, the museum had an obligation to the public to carry
on programming exhibitions and events. Here are just a few of
the many exhibitions held at City Hall and for which we hold the original
catalogues:
Turner’s
Welsh Drawings
Open from Oct 26th 1914 to Jan 30th
1915 and visited by over 8,000 people
Lovett Collection of Toys
Mr Edward Lovett, of the Folklore Society, whose
Collection of Dolls aroused such interest when on exhibition in the Temporary
Museum two years ago, offered to lend his unique Collection of Children’s Toys
and Playthings for exhibition… It had originally intended to close the
exhibition on August 16th 1915 but in view of the interest it
aroused, and to give school children an opportunity of visiting it during the
whole of their holidays, the date of closing was postponed to September 2nd.
The total attendance was 21, 889.
 |
| Original material on display |
I concluded by showing two
other items held here in the Library that are connected with WWI. The first was
volume of military portraits of soldiers from the Welsh Horse Yeomanry. This
regiment did not exist before the Great War. It was formed in August 1914 under
the administration of the Glamorgan Territorial Force Association and
headquartered in Cardiff [Sophia Gardens]. The title page states that the album
was presented to Alderman J. Robinson, who was Lord Mayor of Cardiff
(1913–1914) and it was donated to the Library on the 27th April 1932
by Councillor R. G. Robinson.
The second
item I showed comprised of three albums, possibly put together for promotional
purposes for the Italian air craft manufacturer, Caproni. The
factory was founded in 1908 [in Taliedo, near Milan] and during WWI, they
developed a series of successful heavy bombers, used by the Italian, French,
British and US air forces.
1.
Officine
Caproni contains photographs of
large Caproni factory spaces [interiors and exteriors]
2.
Aeroplani
Caproni contains photographs of
all manner of Caproni aeroplanes [many with machine guns attached]
3.
Smaller third
album [blank cover] containing
photographs of Caproni staff groups at work
This album also contains 5 typed sheets of paper listing the
aeroplanes and giving all sorts of technical information.
Entries are accompanied with phrases like
·
Very useful in attacking
infantry
·
Well armed with 2 - 4 machine guns
·
Purpose built for attacking
enemy ships
Further information on Caproni can be found via the following links:
http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/contractor.asp?thisCompany=Caproni
The last item I showed was one of our scrapbooks covering the war years that contains newspaper articles concerning the museum. These in particular, paint a vivid picture of an exceptional and turbulent period in the history of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales.
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