 Volunteer Spotlight
Bob Metcalfe has been
a volunteer at the Staffordshire County Museum‘s office at Shugborough for
around 4½ years. He can usually be found working on the Staffordshire Past Track website on Monday afternoons and all day on
Thursdays.
"I took early
retirement five years ago after 35 years in HR for an international company. Whilst there are many things to do and places to
go, I consider it is very important to have some milestones in each week or
month and donate some time on a fixed basis for a particular interest. Getting out and about in the fresh air, going
for walks and pub lunches, gardening, day trips or holidays, attending courses
and learning a new language or other new skills are things to consider,
however, it’s also important to be regularly mixing with people of various ages
and from different backgrounds.
Volunteering with the County Museum’s team was initially
a very different world to be in, but from day one they all made me very welcome
and continue to do so.
My tasks
involve selecting and scanning negatives or photographs from the museum’s
collection or from items on temporary loan from people who are interested in
the Past Track website. Once scanned I
then use Photoshop to bring out the best for each image and to provide a great
picture for our Past Track viewers to look at. Additionally I need to create a
caption to sit alongside each picture and if possible try to provide details
of: who, what, where, why and when. Sometimes there is relevant information or
maybe only just a brief comment to use and then I research the item to discover
any more material for the caption. On completion of each item I send them into
the moderation queue for editing or loading
directly into Past Track.
I still find that it is like looking into an amazing box of delights
when I explore the museum's photographic collection. The variety of subjects that I have worked on
is for me endlessly fascinating with postcards, negatives, glass negatives and
photographs of people and places
around the county, presentations, traction engines, buses, street scenes,
people at work in retail or various industries, farming, airplanes, ships,
trains, shopping centres etc.
There have been some highlights along the way.
I enjoyed
working on a collection of old glass negatives many taken in the 1940’s of
people at work along with products being manufactured in the electrical power
industry at the former English Electric factory on the Lichfield Road Site in
Stafford, which later became GEC, then Alstom and currently GE.
Another
highlight was to be asked to take part in the museum’s film Mr Anson and Mr
Wyatt. This film tells the story of the creation of Shugborough Park Farm
around 1803-1805. It was great taking
part and working alongside a professional film team. The finished film is still
on show for visitors to the Park Farm and the film is also on YouTube.
I was
pleased to contact Country Life magazine and arrange with them to forward a
wonderful collection of old photographs of the interiors of Beaudesert Hall
which were taken in November 1919 for their magazine. The Hall which stood on Cannock Chase was
demolished in 1935 and only fragments remain on the site. Many of the pictures
we received had not been on show since they were first published and for me it
was terrific to upload these onto Past Track for everyone to view. I think that
the Long Gallery and the State Bedroom photographs are amazing.
Currently
I’m selecting and scanning negatives from a collection donated to the museum by
the Stafford photographer Tony Boyden.
During my
time at the museum to date I consider myself privileged to be involved with
Past Track and find that I get immense satisfaction from the work. Also it’s
great to be working with Chris Copp and his team of very professional people.
My last
comment on retirement is do not retire! Find something you enjoy and go for
it."
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