National Museums Liverpool Blog - get involved

This is our second blog post in a series leading up to our World War One Family History Day at the Museum of Liverpool this Saturday, 24 March. Today, we look at the story of the Turner Brothers, William and Fred.

William and Fred Turner signed up as Officers to the Liverpool Scottish Battalion. William can be seen here on the far right.

Lieutenants William and Fred Turner were born in Ullet Road, Liverpool, to parents Jessie and William. Both attended the local Greenbank School, and went on to become successful sportsmen in cricket, rugby and football at Sedbergh School, Yorkshire before following in their father’s footsteps and joining the printing firm Turner & Dunnett, of which their father was Senior Partner.
The boys were among the first to ‘sign up’ and both joined the Liverpool Scottish Battalion as officers.

Fred, the younger of the two sons, was the first to go abroad arriving at the Front on 2 November, 1914. His brother William was still in England when Fred was killed within a few weeks of arriving in Belgium on January 10th, 1915, while inspecting barbed wire entanglements in front of his Platoon. He was age 26.

His Commanding Officer said in a letter:

"Fred was a gallant fellow, a universal favourite and the idol of the men under his command. His ever cheery manner and courageous bearing under all conditions endeared him to all his comrades. One of his fellow officers remarked to me that Fred Turner, above all men he had ever met, was one in whom it was impossible to find a fault, and I heartily endorse this opinion."

A Private wrote of him :

"His first thought was always of his men; when their spirits were inclined to droop he rallied them and joked with them, though he always took upon himself the most dangerous and disagreeable duties. A sniper who had tracked him along the trench picked him off."

His older brother William left for the Front straight after Fred’s memorial service two weeks later, and at the request of the men, took his brother’s command. Five months later, he too was killed leading his men in the charge of the Liverpool Scottish on June 16 1915, aged 31.

It was a day that the Liverpool Scottish underwent a terrible ordeal of fire at Hooge, when many men fell in a charge that broke the German lines. A German trench had just been captured, when a heavy shell burst, killing the men and Lieutenant William Turner.

The Rev. Alexander Connell, in an eloquent address at the Memorial Service said: “"He stepped without fuss, and at once, into his fallen brother's place. He won the affection and confidence of his men. Some of them, who have also fallen, had sworn, as we know, that for his sake, as for his brother's, if any hour of peril called them they should be found by his side, living or dead.”

Captain Noel Chavasse, Lord Derby and The King were among those who sent letters of condolence to the Turner family.

David Jones was awarded the Victoria Cross for his outstanding bravery

In the run up to our First World War Family History Day at the Museum of Liverpool on Saturday, we’ll be sharing a few stories from our collection about soldiers who fought in World War I.

Today’s story is about David Jones, VC.

David Jones, from Smithdown Lane in Edge Hill, enlisted in 1915 and was soon promoted to Sergeant.

When the officers from his platoon were killed during the battle for Guillemont, Jones took control. Jones and his men captured a key road into the village and held it for two days and nights without food or water. On the second day they drove back three enemy attacks.

Extract from the London Gazette, No. 29802 dated 24 October 1916:

“For most conspicuous bravery, devotion to duty, and ability displayed in the handling of his platoon. The platoon to which he belonged was ordered to a forward position, and during the advance came under heavy machine gun fire, the officer being killed and the platoon suffering heavy losses Serjt. Jones led-forward the remainder, occupied the position, and held it for two days and two nights without food or water, until relieved. On the second day he drove back three counter-attacks, inflicting heavy losses. His coolness was most praiseworthy. It was due entirely to his resource and example that his men retained confidence and held their post.”

Unnamed private from 12th Battalion, King’s Liverpool Regiment, 1916:

“Nothing could dismay him. At times there was enough to make one’s heart sink to the boots, but Sergeant Jones was as chipper as could be.”

David Jones was awarded the Victoria Cross for his outstanding bravery. He was killed the following month. He never wore his medal. His widow, Elizabeth, collected it from King George V in 1917. His Victoria Cross is on display in the Waterfront to Western Front special exhibition in The People’s Republic gallery. You can read about the Victoria Cross being donated to our permanent collections in a past blog.

The City Soldier's gallery features collections from The King's Regiment, and a range of helmets to try on. (c) Mark McNulty

This Saturday, 24 March, the Museum of Liverpool will be hosting a free First World War family history event to help people with their search into relatives who served in the war.

The Museum looks after the collections of The King’s Regiment in the City Soldiers gallery, which focuses on the long history of the regiment and its relationship with Liverpool. Created in 1685, The King’s Regiment is one of Britain’s oldest regiments. It has been Liverpool’s regiment since 1881, and is now amalgamated into the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment. 

We have many stories to tell about the men who served with The King’s in the First World War, which are on show in our Waterfront to Western Front special exhibition, and the City Soldiers gallery. We’ll be sharing a few stories this week in the run up to Saturday and today’s story is about David Jones, VC.

If you’re interested in finding out more, come down to the Museum of Liverpool on Saturday between 10am and 4pm, where there will be a range of family friendly activities on offer throughout the day. There will be arts and crafts for our younger visitors, performances and role players, along with talks from experts and historians and a number of local societies who will be on hand to assist with family history research.

Visitors will be able to gain access to a research database, which contains the biographical details of over 76,000 men who served in the King’s Regiment during the First World War, and experts will be available to speak to from:

• National Museums Liverpool
• The Western Front Association
• Liverpool Family History Society
• Liverpool Record Office
• The Liverpool Pals 
• The King’s Regiment Association

Tomorrow is one of my favourite days of the year (except for Christmas and Derby Day). It’s St Patrick’s Day, and if you’re not in Ireland, Liverpool really is one of the best places to celebrate.

The early 19th Century saw half a million Irish people settle in the city, and the country’s music and culture has thrived here ever since. So much so, that we have our own Irish Festival, which takes place in October each year.

The Museum of Liverpool celebrates many of the cultures and communities that have made the city their home, and the Irish connection can be seen throughout the galleries whether it be through music, poetry, exploring the Scouse accent or politics.

This spiral motif was found on Neolithic stones in South Liverpool

In fact, as you walk into the Museum one of the first things you see has a link back  to Irish heritage. The stunning Atrium is dominated by a sweeping elliptical staircase, which has been mirrored on the ground floor by a spiral motif that’s not just a pretty pattern.

This New Stone Age motif was discovered on large stones known as the Calderstones near what is now a park of the same name in South Liverpool, where the remains still stand. Virtually all other prehistoric burials with the same type of carvings are found in Ireland and this suggests close contacts with people around the River Mersey and the Irish Sea more than 4,000 years ago!

So our connections with the Emerald Isle go way back, and if my family’s anything to go by, we’ve all got an Irish connection somewhere along the line so there’s no excuse not to celebrate tomorrow.

The folks at the Liverpool Irish Festival have not only arranged a parade in the city to mark the occasion, but also organised some fantastic events at the Museum of Liverpool tomorrow. The Waterfront Café is cooking up some proper Irish grub and there will be talks, storytelling, music and dancing throughout the day, so come down to enjoy the craic!

The People's Republic gallery, featuring the life size Liver Bird and scale model of the Pier Head. (c) Mark McNulty

The Museum of Liverpool is hosting a free family-friendly event in The People's Republic gallery this weekend, working with artists collective Re-Dock to create a film to document the life of the Pier Head.

People of all ages are invited to the Museum of Liverpool on Saturday 15 October to get involved with an interactive filmmaking experiment aiming to create a film that mixes old and new footage of the Pier Head together, to create a looping video mix that will take the audience on a journey through time.

If you have any old or new video footage of the Pier Head and would like to be involved in this collaborative video project, Re-Dock is inviting you to contribute this so that it can be used to create the film which will be show on gallery during the day.
Whether you have footage or not, and would like to take the role of editor during this unique film experience, pop along to the Museum of Liverpool between 12 and 4pm on Saturday 15 October to try your hand.

How you can get involved

Re-Dock is looking for digital format clips of no longer than three minutes of video footage of the area around the Pier Head, which could be footage from this summer or from years ago.

Footage of the On the Waterfront events including the fantastic projections on the Royal Liver Building and the Museum of Liverpool, or of one of a number of cruise ships coming into port on the Mersey are just a couple of ideas for contributions.

The easiest way to contribute is to upload it to the project blog at: http://pierheadtimewarp.wordpress.com or you can bring your footage along on the day on a DVD or USB drive and Re-Dock will aim to include it in the project.

Please remember the Pier Head Time Warp can only use video footage if it belongs to you or you have permission to use it.
Contact Neil Winterburn at Re-Dock on 07528 316 230, neil@re-dock.org or via the website to discuss sharing your video footage.

Our Fundraising and Membership Officer Matt Dunn writes:

We were delighted that people visited our table to sign up as members, and were especially pleased that this included lots of families taking advantage of our special rate of £20. This price includes free, unlimited visits to the upcoming Age of the Dinosaur exhibition at World Museum opening on 22 October, featuring six life-like animatronic dinosaurs! A family ticket will normally cost £14 per visit so it really is a top deal but don’t worry if you missed us – visit our membership page and you can still sign up.

It was great to talk to so many people and explain how membership works and why it’s important. Whilst entry to our eight venues is free, the money we make from membership fees helps support a specific area of National Museums Liverpool’s work each year.

In return for their support, we try to make members feel closer to the museums and galleries by offering special benefits and recently we gave 250 members the opportunity to explore the new Museum of Liverpool outside of normal opening hours. Around 6 to 7,000 visitors have been visiting per day, so the museum is unlikely to feel that quiet again!

A membership event was recently held for 250 members at the new Museum of Liverpool

Keep an eye out on our membership page for upcoming promotions starting on 1 September or give me a call on 0151 478 4157 to find out more!

The Museum of Liverpool education team is currently trying to track down a number of objects they can use as handling resources for learning sessions when the new museum opens.

If you think you could help us track down one of the objects we require for handling sessions like this one, please let us know

Being able to touch and feel an object is a great way of bringing history to life for visitors, and if you think you can help provide us with any of the objects listed below, then please get in touch.

The list of objects required is as follows:
• Liverpool-made toys
• Victorian metal bucket and spade set
• Vintage Union Jack flag
• Opera glasses
• Top hat
• Items linked to imports and exports from Liverpool history - clay pipes, locally made clocks and watches, Herculaneum pottery, tea chests with Liverpool links.
• First World War or home front items linked to Liverpool such as postcards, mementos or photographs
• Carpet bag
• 19th Century Italian lire
• Victorian Knife sharpening equipment or tailoring equipment
• Items related to the Liverpool Overhead Railway
• Docker’s Hook
• Original Beatles records
• 1950s or 1960s transistor radio and TV
• 1960s primary or secondary school text books
• Old-style school desk  - wooden with inkwell
• 1960s Afghan coat

All you have to do is email our assistant curator of urban history Katie Brown on katie.brown@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk with the words handling items in the subject line. Donors must be based in the Liverpool area for ease of collection.

My name is Ellie and I am a new addition at the National Conservation Centre in Liverpool.  I am here on a year long internship in Objects Conservation and Public Engagement, funded by ICON (Institute of Conservation) and the Heritage Lottery Fund. 

While I am here I will post regular updates on the blog to provide a glimpse of what is happening behind-the-scenes at the National Conservation Centre, as conservators look after and investigate fascinating objects from the collection.

Last Saturday’s event ‘Looking After Liverpool’s History’ provided a sneak preview of some of the objects that will be showcased in the new Museum of Liverpool next year.  One hundred year old chocolate, modern day beer bottles and bomb damaged ceramics went under the spotlight, as conservators explained how they look after the enormous variety of objects in the museum’s collection.

If you missed out, then why not join us this Saturday 20th November between 1-3pm for ‘Object Detectives', when we will be revealing the hidden stories of objects using investigative techniques.  Drop in and see our x-ray and high powered microscopes in action, find out more about objects and discover what is eating our collections!

Image of a clothes moth larva taken with a scanning electron microscope.

Recently we updated the blog with news of how filming’s going for our football immersive experience Kicking and Screaming in the new Museum of Liverpool, and now it’s your chance to get involved.

TJ and Charlie, two of the young actors who appear throughout the film in the Kicking and Screaming football immersive

A film about football in Liverpool wouldn’t be complete without an insight into ‘Derby Day’, and soon we will be recreating our very own with the help of reds and blues across the city.

It’s true to say that football can unite, but many families across Merseyside are split down the middle, with some members supporting one team, and others pledging allegiance to another.

At least two days a season, this division can really catch up with us, as Liverpool and Everton go head to head in a Derby game. Rivalry is fierce, tensions high, but nothing quite matches up to the anticipation and exhilaration of a Derby game, and if you’re on the winning side (and I’m pleased to say I was recently) the sensation of a Derby victory is really quite something.

So, reds and blues, we are offering you a chance to be part of a really exciting project that demonstrates our mutual appreciation and true passion for the game, in recreating a classic scene in the build up to a Derby, of walking to the match.

If you’re interested in taking part, we will be filming on the evening of Monday 1 November at a location in Liverpool to be confirmed. Reds and blues of all ages can get in touch with Katie Louise Brown for further information on how to get involved by emailing katielouise.brown@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk or calling 0151 478 4069.

The film will feature in the Museum of Liverpool for some years to come, so we can’t have recent strips or names of famous players on show. Retro strips, scarves, hats and non descriptive clothes are fine, and it will be cold so wrap up warmly in hats and scarves of your team colour.

As part of Heritage Open Days, National Museums Liverpool has a number of events taking place which will provide unique opportunities to explore and enjoy the sometimes hidden, often curious and always interesting areas of some of our venues.

Although not open until next year, the Museum of Liverpool team will also be taking part in this national initiative, in a special event tomorrow - Friday, 10 September - at Toxteth Town Hall from 10:30am – 4pm.

Built in 1865, the Grade II-listed Town Hall has recently undergone a refurbishment and restoration project, and the fantastic work can be seen on the day.

The Museum of Liverpool team will also be there as part of their research in developing an interactive map of Merseyside for the new museum.

The Merseyside Interactive Map will be on display at the new Museum of Liverpool which opens next year

The team are looking to learn more from local people about the places in Toxteth which are important to local history, so come along! Bring your old postcards, photographs, newspapers or magazines, or maybe you have objects which can tell us something about Toxteth’s past. The team can scan photographs and paper material, take pictures of objects, and are very curious to hear more about the places in Toxteth they represent.

The event will also include the following talks:

2:40pm – A talk from Dr Clem Fisher about Toxteth Deer Park

3pm - A sneak peak of the Merseyside Interactive Map, which will give visitors to the new museum the chance to learn about history in their local areas. This talk will also provide the chance for people to tell the team what they think, and suggest places in the area which should be included.