Heritage Shared: Asian Life in Britain Archive Open Day
Now that we're coming to the end of our internships, I've been helping put the final touches in place for Heritage Shared: Asian Life in Britain Archive Open Day. This is a free drop-in event that will be held in the Herbert's History Centre on Saturday 24th September (10:30am - 3:30pm).
The event will showcase the History Centre's impressive collection relating to Coventry's South Asian community - from newspaper cuttings and Punjabi magazines to Indian Workers' Association (see photograph of the 1953 committee above) publications and rare Punjabi prose and poetry.
My favourite item from this unique archive is a film taken by an English regiment posted in India in the 1920s/1930s. The footage shows the regiment exploring the country by car and rail, taking in some of India's most famous sights. It provides a fascinating glimpse of colonial life in India for Indian people working in towns, on the rails and in agriculture. There are entertaining clips of the regiment in their spare time hunting, swimming and playing tennis. For costume fanatics, the film showcases early twentieth century taste in fashion and the fineries enjoyed by the wealthy. For those with an interest in transport and industry the film includes scenes of horse-draw carts, motor cars, trains and Indian people working on the development of the railways.
In addition I've been cataloguing the vast collection of photographs donated for the Herbert's Coming to Coventry exhibition.
Along with a substantial oral history archive, these provide valuable insight into the lives of men and women who migrated to Coventry from the 1940s to the 1960s. The photographs will be displayed for Heritage Shared in an audio slideshow; the images accompanied by the melodies of Punjabi folk poetry. These fascinating photographs show family life, weddings and celebrations and working life as well as sport and leisure activities amongst a variety of themes.
I've also spent some time in the Herbert's stores selecting objects that will be displayed on the day. These objects include coins and medals, silk postcards and a knife brought back from India after the Second World War, reflecting the range of artefacts in the museum's collection.
This special opportunity to view the Herbert's significant collection has been organised for the Anglo-Sikh Heritage Trail's Heritage Shared month.