A Fond Farewell to DHC

After seventeen years working for Dorset History Centre, our Reprographics Officer, Jo has retired, leaving us with a large hole in our team. Before she left us, Jo left us some of her memories of her time at DHC and some of her favourite documents from the collections…

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I joined Dorset History Centre in 2007 on a temporary contract as a History Centre Assistant. After seventeen years I have decided to retire.

I had no idea what to expect at first and it was quite daunting. Eight miles of archives? How will I know where anything is and how do I find it? One of my new colleagues told me,

“It’s a bit like Argos. A customer fills out a slip of paper and someone will go and get it.”

The only difference was that they could only look at it, not take it away. Most of the catalogues were listed in lever arch files or on index cards. On occasions today, when the online catalogue lets us down, we still refer to these to help us out.

‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ on BBC was inspiring everyone to research their family history and Ancestry.com was available to use for free on the public access computers. However, many of the parish registers were still only available on microfilm and the old mechanical readers could be heard whirring and clicking away constantly in the background. Visitors would appear at the enquiry desk with rolls of wallpaper which they would gingerly unroll with the names of all their ancestors listed on their family trees. They would ask us,

“We have traced our family back to 1531, how can we go back further?”

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Since 2013 I have worked in Reprographics taking photographs of documents. In many aspects this is a wonderful job as you are never quite sure from one day to another what you are going to see next. A customer might need a copy of an Anglo-Saxon charter, a Thomas Hardy original manuscript, railway plans, County Asylum records or evidence of a precious, vintage tractor. It’s always something different!

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It would be impossible to list all my favourite documents but here are a few :-

This is from the Herbert Collection. Graham V. Herbert was a commercial photographer who had a premises in Weymouth in the 1950’s. This client in the hairdressers is probably having her eyelashes dyed, but I love the fact that she is wearing her pearl necklace and earrings on and looks like a visitor from outer space!

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This is Cyril Diver posing with seaweed on his head. In the 1930’s, he undertook a survey of various ecosystems in Studland. Although this photo was taken over eighty years ago, I’ve always thought he could easily be at Glastonbury!

There is also this image which shows the team in slightly more normal circumstances! Cyril Diver is on the second left.

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The Watercress Sandwich.

A life-sized watercress sandwich beautifully hand-painted in watercolour used at a marketing meeting in the 1930’s by The Watercress Company.

When you work in an archives people often ask, ‘What is your favourite document?’ I love to see their reaction when I say,

‘A watercress sandwich.’

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Recently I have digitised a fascinating diary written by Sir George Bingham who was with Napoleon in his last days on St Helena.

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And finally, there’s also this fabulous book of music written by Thomas Hardy, which I love!

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My last job before I finish is to copy a huge map of Sherborne measuring 230 cm x 155 cm (no job too big and all that); and there’s the small matter of several hundred railway plans requiring digitisation. Maybe that’s for the next person…

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I have seen many amazing documents and will miss the lovely camaraderie of the DHC team. I have worked with great people and made many good friends over the years.

And finally from me… a memory of sharing a joke with the then HRH the Prince of Wales in 2013.

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Everyone at Dorset History Centre is going to miss Jo’s infectious enthusiasm and colossal presence! We wish her all the very best in her well earned retirement!

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