Speaker for Tuesday 3rd December 2013 - Mr. Ian Wilson
05/12/13 17:40
Photo: Vice President Gordon Ward greets Mr. Ian Wilson, with club members Jim Gordon and Graham MacDonald (L) and John Graham (R)
Talk by Mr. Ian Wilson on his 'Experiences as a Museum Curator'
Club Vice President Gordon Ward took the chair and then introduced our speaker for the morning Mr. Ian Wilson, who gave an interesting talk on his 'Experiences as a Museum Curator'. Mr. Wilson was a teacher at CAI before becoming the Curator of the North Down Museum. He has a particular interest in shipwrecks and has written several books on the subject including one on HMS Drake and another on the shipwrecks of the Ulster coast.
Ian began his talk by saying that he was now retired, but had spent the last 27 years of his working life at the museum in Bangor. He had applied for the job of Curator in the newly built and nearly finished museum while at 'Inst". He had many memories on the school, staff and pupils, and many anecdotes that connected his time in Coleraine with his later work. These held told throughout his talk.
Not only was Ian 'in at the beginning' of the North Down Museum, he was also put into action in his first week, when he got the news that a rare Victoria Cross, that had been awarded to a local man in the first world war, was going up for auction. This was a big challenge for a 'new boy', but he managed to secure a budget from the Council of up to £18k and started talking to the auctioneers in London. He learnt that his biggest opponent would be an American millionaire collector, whom he couldn't possibly out-bid, and that the auction would mainly be conducted by phone (land line, no mobiles at that time). However, with luck and some added charm, a sympathetic auctioneer and no small dose of 'slight of hand', he got the VC, and for £18k. This item will be centre stage at the centenary exhibition of WW1 planed for next year.
Ian went on to talk about just what a 'Curator' does in a museum - which is just about anything and everything. His day could range from enquiries about tracing family a history, the future of an ancient historical site, staff rotas and ordering more light bulbs. The family history side can be both some of the most rewarding and also some of the saddest parts of the job, depending what you may discover.
The Museum houses a large archive of local newspapers - it's interesting to see how these have changed over the years. A century ago these were packed with pages of dense text (compare that to the next edition of the 'Chronicle' and it's pages of photos), for this was how people got their news, there being no TV or Internet. The local viewpoint on world news makes very interesting reading, and will be the basis of the WW1 exhibition mentioned earlier.
Ian gave us many stories of events recorded and 'embedded into the local community' as collective memories, as well as interesting visitors and site visits he had made as part of his local history role. So many in fact, and so interesting anecdotally, that there was no time left for the usual Question and Answer session.
A vote of thanks was proposed by John Graham who said that he was so pleased Ian was giving the talk today, as he could get his copy of just one of several books by Ian (this being on 'Wrecks around the North Coast') signed. The book was especially interesting, as was the talk today. Thanks were due for lots of fascinating details, humour and thought provoking avenues for further reading and investigation. The thanks were passed on by the Vice President. The members showed their appreciation.
Talk by Mr. Ian Wilson on his 'Experiences as a Museum Curator'
Club Vice President Gordon Ward took the chair and then introduced our speaker for the morning Mr. Ian Wilson, who gave an interesting talk on his 'Experiences as a Museum Curator'. Mr. Wilson was a teacher at CAI before becoming the Curator of the North Down Museum. He has a particular interest in shipwrecks and has written several books on the subject including one on HMS Drake and another on the shipwrecks of the Ulster coast.
Ian began his talk by saying that he was now retired, but had spent the last 27 years of his working life at the museum in Bangor. He had applied for the job of Curator in the newly built and nearly finished museum while at 'Inst". He had many memories on the school, staff and pupils, and many anecdotes that connected his time in Coleraine with his later work. These held told throughout his talk.
Not only was Ian 'in at the beginning' of the North Down Museum, he was also put into action in his first week, when he got the news that a rare Victoria Cross, that had been awarded to a local man in the first world war, was going up for auction. This was a big challenge for a 'new boy', but he managed to secure a budget from the Council of up to £18k and started talking to the auctioneers in London. He learnt that his biggest opponent would be an American millionaire collector, whom he couldn't possibly out-bid, and that the auction would mainly be conducted by phone (land line, no mobiles at that time). However, with luck and some added charm, a sympathetic auctioneer and no small dose of 'slight of hand', he got the VC, and for £18k. This item will be centre stage at the centenary exhibition of WW1 planed for next year.
Ian went on to talk about just what a 'Curator' does in a museum - which is just about anything and everything. His day could range from enquiries about tracing family a history, the future of an ancient historical site, staff rotas and ordering more light bulbs. The family history side can be both some of the most rewarding and also some of the saddest parts of the job, depending what you may discover.
The Museum houses a large archive of local newspapers - it's interesting to see how these have changed over the years. A century ago these were packed with pages of dense text (compare that to the next edition of the 'Chronicle' and it's pages of photos), for this was how people got their news, there being no TV or Internet. The local viewpoint on world news makes very interesting reading, and will be the basis of the WW1 exhibition mentioned earlier.
Ian gave us many stories of events recorded and 'embedded into the local community' as collective memories, as well as interesting visitors and site visits he had made as part of his local history role. So many in fact, and so interesting anecdotally, that there was no time left for the usual Question and Answer session.
A vote of thanks was proposed by John Graham who said that he was so pleased Ian was giving the talk today, as he could get his copy of just one of several books by Ian (this being on 'Wrecks around the North Coast') signed. The book was especially interesting, as was the talk today. Thanks were due for lots of fascinating details, humour and thought provoking avenues for further reading and investigation. The thanks were passed on by the Vice President. The members showed their appreciation.
(Secretary, Mike Turner)
For further information, visit - http://www.northdownmuseum.com