As the years march on, the amount of memorabilia that needs to find a suitable home increases. The committee has received requests from members on what families should do with a variety of items including log books and service medals.
The Australian War Memorial (AWM) has had to overhaul its donation collection process in a bid to cope with the large volume of items it receives. On average about 40,000 items are donated to the AWM each year but about half do not meet the required selection criteria. Head of collection services retired Major General Brian Dawson recently said while each item was significant to the individual serviceman or woman, the AWM had to focus on collecting items of national significance.
The new procedure involves people completing an online questionnaire which allows the museum to conduct a controlled assessment of suitable items. Hopefully this will stop the unusual but rather dangerous practice of people turning up at the front counter with weapons. It should be noted that only 5% of all donations get to be exhibited at any one time.
At FOB meetings we have discussed the need to keep certain items for perpetuity as important reminders of national, community, and family involvement in our history. And it is the family connection that will often determine the right course of action. Service medals and log books are important items that can be kept within families. Odd Bods founder George Smith nominated that his medals and log book would be handed on to the first born of each generation and that path has been set.
Other suggestions for the handling of memorabilia include the possibility of setting up a special location for the display of Air Force memorabilia, perhaps through government funding, or an educational institution. In the meantime, individual family arrangements appear to be the suitable course of action.
We welcome the thoughts and proposals of readers on how we might handle memorabilia in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment