Category Archives: Cunard Archive

This Week’s War: 164

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September 1917
Goods Received                                  Goods Distributed
From Boston per Mr Stewart
Playing Cards                                        To No. 57 General Hospital B
Books                                                     To Comrades Association
Games                                                    ” Y.M.C.A Camp B.E.F

Items donated by the wives of active servicemen aboard Cunard ships to be distributed to the indicated areas. From the Cunard Archive [Cunard Women’s War Service Association Report for 1917, D42/C1/1/22/2].

This Week’s War: 161

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August 1917
Goods Received                                  Goods Distributed
From Boston
2 C/s [cases] from Franklin Relief        To Bureau
Assn.
1 ” Magazines                                        Recreation Camps in France, books,                                                                                      magazines, playing cards, dominoes, draughts and                                                                boards. To 2 Casualty clearing stations – Playing                                                                  cards, Cigarettes.

Items donated by the wives of active servicemen aboard Cunard ships to be distributed to the indicated areas. From the Cunard Archive [Cunard Women’s War Service Association Report for 1917, D42/C1/1/22/2].

International Cat Day

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Today we are feline very good in Special Collections and Archives – August 8th 2017 is International Cat Day. As we are cat-loving librarians and archivists, we have selected a taster of our best cat themed items from the Children’s books, Science Fiction Foundation Collections, Cunard Archive, and University Archive fur you to enjoy.

Children’s Literature

SC&A houses more than 7000 pre-First World War children’s books, of which the tale of mischievous cats throughout is a common feature. In The Tale of Tom Kitten, Tom and his siblings Mittens and Moppet play outside in their best clothes, only for them to be stolen by ducks (Oldham 173). Tit, Tiny, and Tittens: The Three White Kittens are a handful, too – they get themselves in all sorts of predicaments (JUV 308:60).

Oldham 173

JUV.308:60

The History of Whittington and His Cat is the feline rags to riches story we are all familiar with. The copy held here in Special Collections is in the form of a chapbook, a small paperback for children which would sell for a cheap price and provide a story with a moral message. This copy also includes the alphabet, allowing children to practice their reading skills from the most basic stage (Oldham 43).

Oldham 43

Science Fiction Foundation Collections

Continuing the theme of children’s literature, the below novel from the Science Fiction collections is written for the young adults audience in the Bantam Action series. In this short novel, robot cats are created to clean-up the city, but are hijacked and used for evil deeds (PR6061.I39.C99 1996). Cats also crop-up regularly in Science Fiction as representation of earth-like normality and domesticity on space ships (for presumably a similar purpose as a ships cat; see below). A personal favorite is Jonesy, Ripley’s ginger tom, from the Alien franchise.

PR6061.I39.C99 1996

Cunard

Cats were commonplace aboard ships for many reasons – they caught vermin, provided comfort to crew, and even predicted storms through their enhanced sensitivity to low pressure environments. Some ships cats have become famous; ‘Unsinkable Sam’, a German cat, survived the sinking of three ships during World War II! From the Cunard archive here, we see below Captain Rostron’s cat and her adorable kittens aboard the Mauretania, from the Cunard Magazine during the mid 1920s (D42/PR5/12).

D42/PR5/12. Cunard Magazine, Vol. 16.

University Archive 

A prominent deposit within the staff papers of the University Archive are the papers of Professor (and Sir) Charles Reilly. One of the most important figures in the history of twentieth-century architecture in Britain, Sir Reilly dominated architectural education and had a profound influence on architectural practice. The below photograph shows Sir Charles Reilly holding a rather uninterested Timoshenko the cat, in the garden of his home in Twickenham during the the World War II era (D938/2/15).

D938/2/15. Photograph by Louise Sedgwick ©

The Special Collections and Archives Cats

From the top left to the bottom right: Audrey and Lilly (Jo Klett, University Archivist), Clara (Katy Hooper, Special Collections Librarian), Chester (Robyn Orr, Library Assistant), Yan, Barry, and Hamilton (Jenny Higham, Special Collections and Archives Manager), and Reginald Ecclefechan (Lucy Evans, Assistant Librarian – Special Collections).

All of these items are available to view right meow in the Special Collections and Archives reading room (except our pet cats – we wish, though…). Please do see our website for more information on visiting us.

New Accession – Cunard Memorabilia

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A few months ago Special Collections and Archives received a surprise donation of Cunard cruise memorabilia from the 1930s that has now been added to the Cunard Associated Deposits – this makes a total of 100 series that is now searchable online.

Lancastria passenger list

Ausonia passenger list

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cunard memorabilia was collected by the Abbotts family during their travels on the Ausonia cruise sailing from London to France, Devon and the Channel Islands in 1932, and the Lancastria cruise sailing from Liverpool to Spain, North Africa, Canary Isles and Madeira in 1934. Comprising passenger lists, newsletters, programmes, menu cards, poems and photographs, these items give an insight into the daily activities onboard cruises at this time.

Of particular interest is the travel album which contains photographs and postcards showing scenes on board the Lancastria, deck games, some of the places visited and local residents. The album also contains autographs of passengers and crew and diary entries made by the Abbotts.

Travel album

The Ausonia and Lancastria memorabilia has been given the deposit number of D1158 and is searchable via the Cunard Associated Deposits: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/library/sca/colldescs/cunard.html

 

This Week’s War: 156

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July 1917
Goods Received                                  Goods Distributed
7 C/s Dressings                                    To Bureau
2 ” Relief Supplies from British War       ” Red Cross Society, Liverpool
Relief Society containing woolens,        Cunard staff on active service
socks etc.

From New York
2 C/s supplies containing Hot water     To Bureau & distributed to
bag, shoes, dressing gowns. tooth       Hospitals at home and abroad.
brushes & powder, razors, soap etc

Items donated by the wives of active servicemen aboard Cunard ships to be distributed to the indicated areas. From the Cunard Archive [Cunard Women’s War Service Association Report for 1917, D42/C1/1/22/2].

This Week’s War: 145

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Liverpool Port Trade Committee 

Notice to Dock Labourers of Military Age

The Board of Trade have given instructions to the Port Labour Committee to the effect that after May 18, 1917, men of Military Age working at the Docks in the undermentioned capacities can only hold Board of Trade Certificates of Exemption from Military Service on condition that they are employed as regular Weekly Servants:-

Dock Labourers                                  TimeKeepers

Receivers                                            Crane Drivers

Weight Takers                                     Checkers

Coal Heavers                                     Foremen Stevedores

Wharfingers                                       Foremen Dock Labourers 

Cunard Archive [D42/C1/1/18]

‘New’ online catalogue – Cunard Chairman’s Correspondence

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As part of the on-going process to make the Cunard archive catalogues available electronically, the first three chairman’s papers are now available online. These records provide a unique insight into the working and sometimes personal lives of very influential men within the Cunard Company.

Lord Inverclyde (D42/PR2/5/11/3) Barclay Bros.

The earliest chairman’s papers within the archive is that of the second Lord Inverclyde who was the third Chairman of the Cunard Company from 1902-1905. His papers include official and semi-official letters, and many draft copies of the 1903 shipbuilding agreement between Cunard and the British Government.

The next chairman’s papers within the Cunard archive is that of Sir Alfred Booth which covers his chairmanship of Cunard from 1909-1922. These are significantly more extensive, consisting of letters on official or semi-official company business regarding subjects such as the building, repair, refitting and wrecking of vessels, agreements with other shipping lines, individual staff matters such as resignations as well as negotiations with unions and various matters connected with the requisition of vessels during the First World War. As well as correspondence many of the files also contain reports, memoranda, copy agreements and minutes of a variety of bodies and committees.

Sir Alfred Booth arriving on the ‘Mauretania’ at Plymouth (D42/PR2/5/4/1) London News Agency.

Lord Thomas Royden (D42/PR2/5/15/1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly we have the papers of Sir Thomas Royden created during his chairmanship of the Cunard Company from 1922-1930. Some letters relate to his involvement in other companies, particularly the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.

Over the coming months we hope to have the remaining Chairman’s catalogues available online. These include the papers of Sir Percy Bates, Mr Frederick A. Bates, Col. Denis H. Bates and Sir John Brocklebank. The final series in this section relates to Mr A.H. Hume who was Deputy Chairman. In the meantime all catalogues can be consulted in printed form in our reading room.

This Week’s War: 143

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April 1917
Goods Received                                  Goods Distributed   
4 C/s [cases] Dressings                        Bureau
” Relief Goods                                        ”
Clinical Charts, Comfort Bags               ”
60 bundles Relief goods                        ”
Cigarettes                                              Hospitals abroad

Items donated by the wives of active servicemen aboard Cunard ships to be distributed to the indicated areas. From the Cunard Archive [Cunard Women’s War Service Association Report for 1917, D42/C1/1/22/2].

Using Primary Sources: new open access e-textbook launched

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Special Collections & Archives has been a key contributor in “Using Primary Sources”, a newly launched Open Access teaching and study resource that combines archival and early printed source materials with high quality peer-reviewed chapters by leading academics.

Edited by Dr Jonathan Hogg, Senior Lecturer in Twentieth Century History at the University of Liverpool, with over 30 academics contributing, this project is a collaboration between Liverpool University Press, the University of Liverpool Library and JISC, and is available for free on the BiblioBoard platform.

Special Collections & Archives has provided images for several chapters across the Medieval, Early Modern and Modern anthologies. Dr Martin Heale’s chapter on Popular Religion features high resolution images from some of SC&A’s illuminated medieval manuscript treasures, including the Dance of Death scene in MS.F.2.14, a French Book of Hours from the late 15th century.  Death is represented as a rotting corpse, followed by a procession of a pope, an emperor and a cardinal. The depiction is intended to have a moral message: a reminder the end is the same for all, regardless of their wealth or status. The accompanying chapter provides the context for the interpretation of such primary sources, so as to better understand attitudes to popular religion during this period.

Dance of Death, Book of Hours (Use of Chalons), LUL MS F.2.14 f82r

Both the Cunard archive and the Rathbone papers feature in Dr Graeme Milne’s chapter on Business History, whilst items from our children’s literature collections have been selected for Dr Chris Pearson’s chapter on the Environment. Some of these items are also used in teaching classes, where students have the opportunity to see and interpret the volumes for themselves.

A. Johnston, Animals of the Countryside, 1941. Oldham 485

Title page of A. White, The instructive picture book, 1866 JUV.550.2

From the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament ephemera collected by Science Fiction author John Brunner to a 14th century English Book of Hours, “Using Primary Sources” is both a valuable showcase for SC&A’s collections, and an important open access resource for students.

The textbook can be accessed via the Library catalogue, or directly from: https://library.biblioboard.com/module/usingprimarysources.

You can read more about the project on the Liverpool University Press website, as well as an interview with editor Dr Jon Hogg.

Follow “Using Primary Sources” on Twitter @LivUniSources to find out when new themes are added to the e-textbook. Forthcoming chapters for launch in 2017 include Science & Medicine, Gender and Political Culture.

This Week’s War: 135

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Feb. March.                           Goods Distributed

10 C/s [cases] Dressings      To Bureau
Magazines and Cards            Hospitals home and abroad
3 C/s Dressings                     Bureau
Trunk of Clothes                     Per Mrs. Torrey for Professional Classes Relief Association

Items donated by the wives of active servicemen aboard Cunard ships to be distributed to the indicated areas. From the Cunard Archive [Cunard Women’s War Service Association Report for 1917, D42/C1/1/22/2].