National Museums Liverpool Blog - Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Sunday 2nd September marks National Merchant Navy Day which commemorates the 40,000 seafarers who died whilst in Britain’s Merchant Navy during the Second World War.
Those seafarers ranged in age from 14 years old to 78 years old, and also included  8,500 Asian seaman and seafarers from across the World who served in the British Merchant Navy.

The 3rd September marks the day when war was officially declared between Britain and Germany, and the nearest Sunday to this date is usually chosen to commemorate National Merchant Navy Day.  This year the 2nd is the closet Sunday, and there will be a midday service at Our Lady & St Nicholas’ seafarers Church in Chapel Street, Liverpool.
After the church service there will be a parade from the Pier head, please see the link for details.

As part of the commemoration the Red Ensign flag will be flown from some public buildings in the city.  This flag is the official flag of the British merchant marine (or fleet). In the Merseyside Maritime Museum’s Battle of the Atlantic gallery you can find out more about the important role carried out by the Merchant Navy in the Second World War.
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest campaign during the Second World War. In 1939 Britain relied on its North Atlantic shipping routes and it needed essential imports from the United States and Canada. In total 60,000 Allied Merchant seafarers lost their lives and it is to them that we pay homage to.

A picnic just isn't a picnic without your favourite ted!

If you go down to Sudley House this weekend, you’ll probably find it filled with families, teddy bears and picnic boxes. The Great British picnic is a favourite and is only topped when accompanied by a clan of teddy bears!

Sudley House’s leafy green grounds are a lovely spot for a picnic and the recent bout of good weather makes lunching on some grass particularly appealing.

It’s therefore time to pack up the cocktail sausages, select a teddy-bear, and don a sun hat, plus a pac-a-mac, and join the fun at Sudley from 11-4pm!

Other events:

• Join us on a teddy bear adventure as we invite children to use their imaginations to go on a teddy bear hunt.
• Create your own special teddy bear mask to take home.
• Have a go at decorating a yummy gingerbread teddy with our friendly café staff (a small charge applies).
• Snuggle up with your teddy and listen to teddy bear tales with our storyteller.

Jesse Owens on the International Slavery Museum's Fight for Freedom and Equality Wall ©Lee Garland

I could not miss the opportunity of an Olympic themed blog.  I enjoyed these past few weeks (I now know about ippon and not to pop out of the room before the 50m freestyle) and am looking forward to the Paralympics. That being said, I am not sure whether the Olympics warranted the lead news item most evenings.   The world does not put everything on hold for such events.

On several occasions the discussion focused on the achievements of Black athletes, in particular sprinters form the Caribbean and the US. A recent programme which featured Olympian Michael Johnson called Survival of the Fastest looked at whether African American and Caribbean athletes are successful as a result of a legacy of transatlantic slavery. Johnson met sport and science experts and leading historians to examine the link between transatlantic slavery, genetics and plantation 'breeding programmes'. Did the physical stature of many enslaved Africans forced to carry out backbreaking and deadly physical labour have a role to play in altering the genomes of their descendants?

John Inverdale asked Johnson and Colin Jackson the question and although Johnson believed it might have had an important part to play it was not the full story. He noted that hard work, dedication, training facilities and in the case of Jamaica, that sprinting was probably the national sport, are all factors. Jackson then noted that ‘nurture’ rather than ‘nature’ was the key. Many scholars feel that it is ‘socio-economic factors’ rather than physical attributes alone which account for the success of Black athletes in certain sports such as sprinting and basketball. It is a fine line between a serious debate though and old stereotypes about evolutionary development being reinforced. 
 
The work of activist and sociologist Dr Harry Edwards is worth reading on this subject. He points out that although African Americans might excel in certain sports the vast majority of sports are dominated by white athletes. I can't recall a discussion about the lack of Black athletes competing in sailing or equestrian events. I doubt the success of Trinidad and Tobago's gold medallist Keshorn Walcott in the men's javelin or the US’s Gabby Douglas, the first Black individual all-around gymnastics gold medalist was purely down to physical attributes, or a divine talent they were born with, rather their work ethic and endless hours of practice and dedication had something to do with it. It is a controversial and complicated debate and one which has raged for many years.

Dr Edwards was the founder of the The Olympic Project for Human Rights which highlighted racial segregation in the United States and included the athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos who gave the famous raised fist salute at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. Interestingly, in his autobiography 'Silent Gesture', Tommie Smith referred to it as a "human rights salute".  The image can be seen in the Legacy gallery of International Slavery Museum as can that of the legend Jesse Owens who destroyed the Nazi myth of Aryan racial supremacy by winning four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Although he received a ticker-tape parade in New York for his endeavors, he was treated with contempt at the reception in his honour at the Waldorf Astoria hotel when instructed to take the service lift rather than the main lift, which was reserved for white guests. He was also snubbed by President Franklin Roosevelt who never congratulated Owens or invited him to the White House. In 1976 President Ford awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the recognition he deserved, not before time.

Bye for now,

Richard

Stephen Carl-Lokko and Angela Samata wearing the winning tshirts

Visitors to White Gold: the true cost of cotton in the Campaign Zone at the International Slavery Museum have been coming up with t-shirt slogans related to the issues in the exhibition. Developed in partnership with the Environmental Justice Foundation, White Gold draws attention to the exploitation of workers in the cotton industry in Uzbekistan.

The fashion designer Katharine Hamnett went through over 300 entries to select the winner of the t-shirt competion. A big congratulations to Katie Fernandez from Woolton for her winning slogan: ‘Thousands of Childhood’s Lost…and all I got was this lousy tshirt’. The slogan has been printed onto 100% organic cotton t-shirts and is available to purchase from EJF’s online shop.

Katharine Hamnett explained why she picked Katie's slogan: “It’s true. Uzbekistan and many other countries routinely uses slave child labour to pick its cotton, also exposing them to deadly pesticides, so that the West can have cheap clothing and big brands can make a lot of money. The true price of clothing is paid in lost childhoods, human suffering and environmental degradation.”

There was a hive of activity last week in the Titanic & Liverpool: the untold story exhibition as we were busy installing a new display of personal items relating to Henry Wilde.

Henry Wilde was a senior officer on Titanic and the museum was honoured when the opportunity to display these never seen before items came to light.
Henry Wilde lived in Walton, Liverpool and worked for White Star for most of his career

The three letters - one to his daughter Jennie from Olympic on 30 March, and two written to Jennie and Nurse aboard Titanic on 9 and 11 April 1912 - detail the preparations before for sailing, and his last minute transfer to Titanic’s crew. The final letters were written on board Titanic and the last was sent from Queenstown during the ship’s stop in Ireland. The letters are very poignant and a heart felt insight into the relationship between a father and his children; he clearly misses them and looks forward to seeing them again. Henry was praised for his part in the launch of Titanic’s lifeboats, but sadly didn’t survive the sinking. His body was never recovered.

The letters really emphasize the human story and personal loss which affected the families as a result of the sinking of Titanic. Many families never saw their loved ones again. The sinking of Titanic shocked the world but would have a longer, devastating effect on the lives of families left behind.

Titanic & Liverpool: the untold story exhibition is open until 21 April 2013.

Anchor Line brochure for vessels Cilacia and Circassia showing on-board gym (cropped), reference SAS/33F/1/4.

I do enjoy cycling, so the last few weeks have been fantastic. Not the weather, unfortunately, but watching the exploits of Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Mark Cavendish and David Millar et al. in the Tour de France and the Olympics.  All topped off with yesterday's brilliant time trial.  The Maritime Archives & Library are celebrating the Olympics with an online exhibition Sport and the Sea which includes images of on-board sports facilities such as this rather uncomfortable looking gym on the Anchor Line vessels Cilacia and Circassia from the 1930s.

Sir Steve Redgrave unveils Olympic Gold at Liverpool Victoria Rowing Club in 1985. Reproduced with kind permission of Liverpool Victoria Rowing Club

Ben Whittaker, Curator of Port History reports:

Yesterday Team GB got their first rowing medals.  Congratulations to Heather Glover and Helen Stanning, who won gold in the women's pair.  And with the rowing eight "Olympic Gold" on display in the Racing For Gold Olympic themed display, we were keeping a special eye on the men's eight race. And Great Britain's men did fantastically well in securing a bronze medal.  The rowing eights take about five minutes to travel the two thousand metres of an Olympic race, and the eight rowers have to be guided by a cox who steers the boat.  You can see film footage of rowing eights being rowed locally by Liverpool Victoria Rowing Club members in the Racing for Gold exhibition, and also online in the Olympic section of our website.

April Ashley was at the Museum of Liverpool on Friday to launch a new project by Homotopia Liverpool

On Friday, we hosted a very special event, marking the beginning of an exciting project that will culminate in an exhibition at the Museum of Liverpool.

The event led by Homotopia Liverpool, took place to announce the ground-breaking project that will tell the story of the life of Miss April Ashley, utilising her unique collection of photographs, letters and personal documents supplemented with archive materials from Liverpool records Office, National Museums Liverpool and other sources.

April attended the event herself, and took part in a Q&A session with BBC Radio Merseyside’s Roger Philips, which inspired everyone who came along to hear about the project and April’s life.

The April Ashley Heritage Project will demonstrate the significant role April has played in making social and political history in Britain form 1935 to 2012. In detailing her life, the project will tell the wider story of social, political and legislative change affecting Trans, LGB and many other people in Britain over the past 70 years, and of the impact April’s story has had on family law and legal definitions of gender and identity.

Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the project will culminate in autumn 2013, with an exhibition at the Museum of Liverpool forming a key part of Homotopia’s 10th anniversary.

Homotopia Liverpool is currently looking for participants and volunteers to help deliver the April Ashley Heritage Project. You can help by telling your story, taking part in one of the reminiscence workshops, recording your own oral history, or just lending a hand as a volunteer. Contact bev@homotopia.net for further information.

If you can knit or crochet then we'd like your help to make lots more flowers, leaves, insects, birds and small animals to add to our display. Please make all your items about life size and avoid using anything that could be sharp or dangerous to children. There are lots of free patterns online, plus some great books of patterns by Lesley Stanfield and others should be available through your local library.  

It doesn't matter if you are a complete beginner - come along to our free Knitted nature workshops in the Weston Discovery Centre this weekend and you can learn how to make simple flowers. The workshops are 1-4pm on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 August, have a look at the What's on page for full details. 

If you make any woolly wildlife at home then please bring it to the Natural History Centre or the Weston Discovery Centre before Sunday 12 August and we'll add it to the display. You can also post it to Gina Couch, Education Manager (Interactive Centres), World Museum, William Brown Street,  Liverpool L3 8EN.

Have a look at some photos from our last family workshop and some examples of the things people have already made for the displays in our Woolly Wildlife set on Flickr.

Two paintings from the Walker Art Gallery’s collections have gone on display at Liverpool Cathedral. ‘St John’s Market, Liverpool – Saturday Morning’ and ‘Bold Street from Waterloo Place’ by Charles Trevor Prescott give an insight into everyday life in Liverpool at the end of the 19th century. The lively scene of Bold Street is instantly recognisable and shows the transport and fashion of the time. The bustling stalls in St John’s depict a thriving market.

The paintings provide inspiration for the Cathedral’s annual photographic competition. The theme this year is Liverpool Life. So all you budding photographers should involved!

Make sure you get to the Cathedral before 16 September 2012 to see these wonderful paintings before they go back into the stores. And if they whet your appetite for more Victorian art, there’s plenty more to see down the road at the Walker Art Gallery.