National Museums Liverpool Blog - Thursday, November 15, 2012

Image shows the war memorial to the Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial, Boston

Hello,

Regardless of the fact that President Obama’s recent election victory brought about a tangible sigh of relief in many parts of the world, these next few years will be a tough test for him and his administration.   For those of you interested in Obama, from next January our sister venue the Walker Art Gallery hosts the exhibition In 7 Days by the artist Nicola Green, who between August 2008 and January 2009 had the opportunity to follow Barack Obama on his Presidential campaign. One of the images ‘Change’ has the then Senator Obama in a John Wayne-esque pose.  The similarities end there though; it could be said that Wayne had rather more conservative political values.

Moreover, Wayne’s Wild West is not quite the sole domain of the rugged, blue eyed pioneer one might assume.  One Robert Nesta Marley’s Buffalo Soldier includes the lyrics There was a buffalo soldier in the heart of America, Stolen from Africa, brought to America, Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival which refers to Black soldiers involved in the notorious 19th century military campaigns to gain the lands of the Native Americans. The Buffalo Soldiers were in fact part of the 9th and 10th cavalry units established by Congress as the first peacetime Black units in the regular U.S. Army.   Several African American regiments had already been raised during the Civil War to fight in the Union Army and Navy after a clause in the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 allowed Black men to join the armed forces. By the end of the war, over 175,000 Black soldier’s had fought including the famous Massachusetts 54th Regiment, immortalized in the film Glory with Denzel Washington in the role of a soldier who had himself been enslaved and Matthew Broderick as Colonel Shaw.

I have seen the Robert Gould Shaw and Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial in Boston (pictured) which one has to say has a rather imposing Colonel Shaw astride a horse above the Black infantry men.  As Kirk Savage notes in his article From Hope & Glory: Essays on the Legacy of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment to focus on one man would be inadequate as the memorial is much more than a tribute to one individual. That said, units were segregated and enlisted Black men were typically commanded by white officers.

I digress somewhat as I want to focus on the Obama administrations work on human trafficking, something which directly relates to our work here at the Museum.  With regards challenging trafficking The President recently declared that “we can’t ask other nations to do what we are not doing ourselves”.  In recent years there has been more recognition that victims of trafficking in the US are not only from other countries but can be US citizens themselves. It is not just an entry point but a provider.   President Obama brings renewed high level vigour to the fight against trafficking, building on such initiatives as the President’s Task Force to Combat and Monitor Trafficking of Persons, formed in 2000 and recently chaired by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.   More must be done but it is a start that the power of the federal government is behind such campaigns and regardless of the argument about motives or the speed of such initiatives there seems to be movement in the US.   One federally supported project is Slavery Footprint – Made in a Free World – an online portal for companies who are looking to eliminate forced labor in their supply chains.

President Obama has often praised President Abraham Lincoln, who in September 1862 issued a Preliminary Proclamation which stated as of 1 January 1863 “all persons held as slaves within any state…shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free”.  This year the White House celebrated the 150th anniversary of the signing of this document and so now more than ever the issues of emancipation is on the agenda.  In fact the organization Dontsellbodies.org has called for a modern “Proclamation of Freedom” and the actor and activist   Jada Pinkett Smith a supporter -   recently tweeted that “Prop 35 Passed! Freedom Shall Reign!” in reference to California’s passing of Proposition 35, the Californians Against Sexual Exploitation Act which amongst other things has increased prison penalties for  human traffickers and states that those convicted of such crimes will be added to California’s sex offenders registry.

You might ask what is happening this side of the pond regards the political fight against human trafficking? Well a positive move was the UK’s 2011 ratification of the EU Directive on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, the aim of which is to harmonize anti-trafficking legislation across Europe.   Also, ahead of this year’s Anti-Slavery Day on 18 October the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs opened a conference at the Houses of Parliament which brought together European countries who are tackling human trafficking, NGO’s and law enforcement agencies.  Steps in the right direction. 

What makes the Museum an important partner in the fight against human rights abuses and forms of trafficking is that we are able to bring the message to a large public audience.  To continue this work, the Museum, like the recent Obama/Biden campaign strap line, needs to move ‘forward’.  To do that we need the continued support of people (if you read this Jada drop me a line). Retweet us, connect with us on Facebook, show us on Flickr, blog about us, tell your friends and neighbours about us, and last but not least, come and visit us. 

Finally, anyone that sees me in the flesh during the month of November might notice I am sporting a rather dashing moustache.   This is not for vanity reasons but it is Movember, where moustaches on thousands of men’s faces around the world raise awareness of men’s health issues, specifically prostate cancer and testicular cancer.   Check it out.

Bye for now,
Richard

Ian Murphy, Curator of Martime History and Deputy Head of the Merseyside Maritime Museum reports:

Seafaring is a perilous occupation and this year the world has commemorated the lives lost in the sinking of Titanic. 10 years after this disaster however, another White Star ship was involved in dramatic events that had a much happier outcome.
90 year’s ago today, the White Star liner Pittsburgh under the command of Captain Thomas Jones was involved in the rescue of all 45 crew members of the Italian ship Monte Grappa in the mid Atlantic.

Monte Grappa had left Montreal for Venice carrying grain in November 1922 when a storm hit in mid-Atlantic. For two days the ship battled treacherous conditions, but eventually her SOS call was picked up by the Pittsburgh. Captain Jones and his crew responded immediately, fighting through the stricken waves to save all crew from the sinking ship.

Merseyside Maritime Museum has recreated Captain Thomas Jones’ cabin, along with some of his personal effects in the Life at Sea gallery. There’s another connection with Captain Jones at the museum in the shape of a model one of his later vessels, RMS Haverford, in our Art & the Sea gallery.

RMS Haverford was built in 1901 by John Brown and Company of Clydebank and had an eventful history. During the First World War she served as a cargo and troop transport. She carried British troops to the Dardanelles and American troops to Europe. She survived two torpedo attacks from U-boats. After the war she returned to the Liverpool-Philadelphia service. She helped repatriate thousands of American troops and carried many emigrants to the USA. She was scrapped in Italy in 1925.

A film crew from the show travelled around the country to determine how hospitable certain cities were. They would knock on stranger’s doors and ask if they could stay the night! Liverpool, of course, was one of the few cities to receive the gold award. The programme showed some great Liverpool characters and proved what a friendly and hospitable city we are.

Transferring an elephant on the Irrawaddy River, Burma (MAL reference D/IR/Box3)

Now I could use this image to draw some metaphor with the American Republican party as their symbol is an elephant, but I've heard quite enough about that election, so I'll just tell you a little bit about the photograph.  This lovely image is from an album held by the Maritime Archives & Library of photographs taken and collected by Captain H J Chubb who worked for the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company in Burma.  The company ran a fleet of vessels along the difficult waters of the Irrawaddy River until 1950 when its assets were transferred to the newly independent Burmese Government.  Amongst the many images of ships on the river, which of course we are very fond of, there are wonderful shots like this.  I have no idea why an elephant was being moved from one vessel to another, but this seems like a better way of doing it than trying to use the narrow gangplank.  I wonder if the second elephant was easy to catch?

It was painted by Liverpool born artist, and well-known local character, Yankel Feather (1920-2009).

The painting, which is not currently on display, shows the interior of a men’s public convenience in Williamson Square, which was known locally as ‘The Wheel of Fortune’. It reflects the time, prior to 1967, when homosexuality was illegal.

The painting is part of our ever growing collection of LGBT related material.

The Wheel of Fortune is one of the places featured in the Mapping Memory interactive map on the Maritime Museum website.

On a recent trip to Falmouth we visited the National Maritime Museum Cornwall, interviewed Cornwall’s last remaining Customs Officer and chatted to the creator of a newly built 18th-century style lugger!

On our last day we got up early and travelled along the sunny south-east coast of Cornwall to Millbrook boatyard in Plymouth. Here we met professional sailors Marcus Rowden and Freya Hart, with their little toddler Malachi – the inspirational team behind the Grayhound.

The original Greyhound was an 18th-century Customs cutter commissioned by John Knill, collector of Customs and mayor of St Ives. Having discovered the plans for the original vessel, Marcus and Freya decided to build their own version from scratch. This would not only be an important part of Cornish maritime history, but ultimately their future place of work and family home.

Marcus and Freya sold everything they owned to build their dream boat. With the help of ten assistants and dedicated volunteers, they began the build in 2010 using trees cut down from Devon‘s Teign Valley. After a labour intensive two years, Grayhound was launched in August 2012.

Just a few weeks later, we chatted to the enthusiastic and proud owners of the stunning 21st-century Grayhound. We admired her from a distance as she basked in the sun near to the boatyard. The only disappointment was that the tide was too high for us to get on board!

She sets sail in April 2013, with Marcus and Freya (accompanied by Malachi) running adventure holidays around the world. Passengers will be part of the crew, learning traditional sailing skills and experiencing the excitement of life at sea.

We hope one day she’ll call in at the Albert Dock in Liverpool, so we can have a closer look and finally step on board!

If you’re lucky enough to be in the market for some holiday reading, we’ve got some brilliant titles available on our online shop.

'Earlier British Paintings in the Walker Art Gallery and Sudley House' by Alex Kidson is a book featuring more than 300 paintings by the likes of Gainsborough, Hogarth, Romney and Stubbs. Mrs Tinne's Wardrobe by Pauline Rushton is an update of the highly popular costume catalogue. Perfect for learning more about the amazing costume in our collections.

Please do judge this book by its lovely cover.

Seized! curators Alayna Ellis and Steve Butler holding up the bodysuit before it went on display

Alayna Ellis, Assistant Curator at Seized! writes about this unusual new acquisition.

A gang of eight Bulgarian and Lithuanian drug smugglers joined the cruise in Brazil destined for Amsterdam. When the ship berthed at Dover on 6th May 2010, UK Border Force officers with a sniffer dog entered the ship to search their cabins. Stashed inside suitcases were eight cocaine filled bodysuits intended to be worn under clothing. In total, officers recovered 35 kilos of cocaine valued at nearly £5m. The eight smugglers were sentenced to a total of 87 years imprisonment.

When these handmade suits arrived at the museum, the lining had previously been cut by forensics to remove the thousands of pellets of cocaine. We still had to be careful and wear our curator gloves in case of any drug traces. Inside the suits were hand written details revealing the number of concealed cocaine pellets and the smugglers name in the Cryllic alphabet.

The suit on display had contained 6 kilos of cocaine and belonged to a 20 year old female smuggler who was sentenced to over 13 years in prison. On display you can also see an evidence bag of the remains of latex and cling film used to wrap the drugs.

This new display is a permanent addition to the Seized! gallery, reflecting the role of the UK Border Force and how they are one step ahead of the smugglers.