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ITEM EX10

EXECUTIVE – 30 SEPTEMBER 2003

SOLDIERS OF OXFORDSHIRE

Report by Head of Cultural Services

Introduction

  1. Following the bicentenary exhibition of the Oxfordshire Yeomanry in 1998, the County Museums Service has maintained a close working relationship with the Oxfordshire Yeomanry Trust and the various other military units associated with the county by providing advice and support concerning the long-term care of their historic collection.

  2. There is a growing problem with the long term care and protection of a number of important military collections in Oxfordshire; the county is not alone in this experience: many military museums around the country have been suffering from declining visitor figures and declining support. In order to address these issues the attached report (Annex A) was prepared for the joint Soldiers of Oxfordshire group as an initial options appraisal of 5 possible solutions: the Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock; the Museum of Oxford; a new museum at the former USAF site at Upper Heyford; Oxford Castle; and the Oxfordshire Museums Store at Standlake. The report sets out the response of the Soldiers and concludes that the Standlake option is to be preferred, provided proposals for development of that facility come to fruition.

    3. Consultation Response

  3. The Soldiers’ response to the report has been favourable. They make the following specific comments:

    1. The attractiveness of option (e) to this Trust would be enhanced if its implementation were to be complemented by the establishment in central Oxford of a small permanent ‘Soldiers of Oxfordshire Centre’. We visualise that this should be something between a shop, an information access point, a display/exhibition and a combination of all three. It would contain enough visual information to explain what Soldiers of Oxfordshire is about, one or two select artefacts and explanations (regularly changed) and electronic access to regimental archives. We suggest that space for such a facility might be found either in the Castle site heritage area or in the City Museum.

    2. While the independent Regimental Trusts would retain ownership of their artefacts in the care of the County, there would be an important role for their joint body Soldiers of Oxfordshire in ensuring that the extensive County military other than that represented by the Regimental Trusts is given proper attention as well as coordinating those of the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry and the Yeomanry.

    3. While option (e) does not achieve the original ambition of this Trust or of Soldiers of Oxfordshire for a permanent County Military Museum, as has been attained in many other counties, it does have the following advantages from our point of view:

        1. Long term security and professional care for our regimental collections

        2. Professional help in mounting short term travelling exhibitions to mark important anniversaries etc

        3. If fully implemented, a far greater and more effective public interface with our Regiments and their history than exists at the moment

        4. An advantageous degree of the institutionalisation of this Trust’s objectives

        5. The ability of this Trust to have access to its artefacts at all reasonable times and to repossess them fully should it become necessary or desirable.

  4. A short report and the attached Options Appraisal were discussed at the Museums Joint Working Group meeting in July 2003; that meeting supported the proposal that the military collections be stored in the Oxfordshire Museums Store (Phase II) at no charge.

  5. Since then there has been a meeting between representatives of the Soldiers and the consultants developing the detailed plans for the exhibitions in Oxford Castle. It is increasingly likely that some of the collections, particularly those associated with the Oxfordshire Yeomanry, may be exhibited within the heritage area.

    6. County Museums and Heritage Officer Comments

  6. The collections of the Soldiers are of exceptional importance to the understanding and appreciation of Oxfordshire’s history. From the 17th century to the Second World War there were few families in the county untouched by events involving the military both here and abroad. For example the Oxford University Volunteers were formed as a bodyguard to King Charles I in 1642; they were reformed in 1685 to meet the Monmouth revolt; the Oxfordshire Regiment was formed in 1782, and the Yeomanry in 1798 – both served in campaigns world-wide. The collections represent all aspects of this history; they include official documents, personalia, uniforms and arms.

  7. The County Museums Service ‘aims to enable people to enjoy an understanding and appreciation of Oxfordshire’s heritage through access to the museum collections of real objects and associated information, and by working in partnership with others with similar aims’. This proposed partnership with the Soldiers is an example of that philosophy in action.

  8. Clearly any transfer of a significant collection of this size to the Oxfordshire Museums Store is contingent on the completion of an extension to the existing Storage facility. A full report and options appraisal on storage for the heritage collections will be prepared for the Executive in due course. At this point, therefore, a decision ‘in principle’ is sought, in order to assist the Soldiers in their discussions and planning process and to inform the development plans for the Store extension.

    9. Financial and Staff Implications (at 2003 prices)

  9. The military collections are currently scattered; they will require checking, packing, transporting and installing in the new facility. Documentation will also be necessary. It is estimated that the one-off costs of packaging materials and storage furniture will be c£8,000; plus labour costs of c£7,200. These costs to be met by the Soldiers.

  10. It is estimated that the military collections would require a minimum of 200 cubic metres of storage; if some items are unpacked to create ‘visible storage’, then the space requirement will increase to possibly 300 - 400 cubic metres. At the current storage charge of £30 per cubic metre per year this would normally be charged at £9,000 - £12,000 per year. It is recommended that these storage costs are waived in view of the considerations set out above.

  11. Staff costs, for caring for the collection, annual audits, pest control, cleaning and any remedial conservation agreed by the owners would be charged at the agreed rates (currently £15 per hour). The Head of Conservation has estimated the annual service charge for this work to be about £4,000. The Soldiers will have difficulty raising such a sum annually and as voluntary organisations their long-term sustainability is uncertain; it is therefore proposed to continue the negotiations.

  12. The Soldiers of Oxfordshire, old comrades and military historians approved by the owners of the collections will be encouraged to provide volunteer ‘curators’ to document the collections, prepare digital images and captions, to carry out research and to implement the temporary exhibition plans.

    13. RECOMMENDATIONS

  13. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

          1. agree in principle that the military collections of Oxfordshire described in the report should be housed in the Oxfordshire Museums Store at Standlake, subject to funding and implementation of the Phase II development of the Store, in accordance with option (e) described in the Options Appraisal at Annex A to the report;

          2. endorse the proposal that, in the event that it proves possible to proceed as set out in (a) above, staff time for care and maintenance of the collection be charged at cost and no charge be made for occupation of storage space of the order estimated in the report.

RICHARD MUNRO
Head of Cultural Services

Background Papers: Nil

Contact Officer: Martyn Brown, County Museums and Heritage Officer Tel: (01865) 814114

September 2003

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