Wars of Liberation, Wars of Decolonisation:
The Rhodesian Army Archive Project.
Newsletter April 2007.
Welcome to the Project
The Rhodesian Army Archive project was
set up by the University of the West of
England, Bristol, in September 2006, with
funding from the Arts and Humanities
Research Council, to catalogue the
extensive collection of papers and other
materials from the Rhodesian Army
Archive, which is held by the Empire &
Commonwealth Museum in Bristol.
The
archive
was
deposited
in
uncatalogued boxes at the Museum. A
steady stream of researchers have
plundered these boxes, finding gems
almost at random - poignant and revealing
photographs of soldiers on both sides of
the war; intelligence reports that reveal the
experience and attitudes of a besieged
white minority struggling to protect its
position; operational instructions that
illustrate the tactics of fighting a guerrilla
insurgency; policy debates that expose the
strengths and weaknesses of a doomed
but desperate government; rumours and
counter-rumours about witches, spirits and
poison.
However, despite this richness of material,
there was no way of locating specific
documents, and no organising principle
behind the boxes. The RAA project is
producing a comprehensive catalogue to
these unique materials. The catalogue will
make
the
archive
accessible
for
researchers and others interested in the
Rhodesian military, their struggle to
suppress African insurgency, and their
ultimate failure. The project will be
completed by August 2009, when the
catalogue will become available with a
searchable database on the UWE
website.
People on the project
The project manager is Dr Diana Jeater,
Principal Lecturer in African history at
UWE. Diana has previously published
books
on
early
twentieth-century
Zimbabwean history. The focus on the
period of the liberation struggle is a
stimulating new challenge.
The chief archivist is Dr Tim Lovering,
Research Fellow at UWE, who will also
write a guide to the collection. Tim’s
background is in history, and his doctoral
thesis from Stirling was on the experience
of Malawian soldiers in Britain’s colonial
armed forces. However, Tim also has an
MSc
in
Archives
and
Records
Management, making him the perfect man
for the job. He has worked in higher
education, local government, and business
archives.
The deputy archivist is Dr Stephen Ball,
Research Associate at UWE. Stephen,
who joined the project in November 2006,
also has a background in both history and
in archives. His doctoral thesis from
London was on the Royal Irish
Constabulary in Ireland, and he has
acquired very useful experience of working
with manuscript archives in the Manuscript
Department of the National Library of
Ireland in Dublin.
Technical input.
The project is using innovative software
that is specifically designed to handle a
rich and diverse collection in ways that are
useful to researchers. The Bamboo
software has been developed by the
Cambridge firm Lemur Consulting, for
these types of large databases on PCs or
the web. It handles multimedia data
including text, images, audio and video
and uses combination of relational
(Boolean) retrieval with the powerful
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system
of
probabilistic
(Bayesian)
retrieval. Searching is very fast and
intuitive and Bamboo can run on a server,
allowing many users to access the data at
once using standard web browsers.
The Management Board
Tim Lovering has been working very
closely with Tom Mortimer at Lemur to
develop a suitable hierarchical system for
the database. He has observed that, "The
ability to make unexpected associations
and connections in our data will be an
immensely valuable tool for users
researching the collection. Crucially,
Bamboo allows a search query to be any
shape or pattern of words. This flexibility,
combined with the chances of Bamboo
finding a range of records relating to the
same theme, will greatly expand the
potential for users to make new
discoveries which will enable them to
apply the material in innovative ways."
Keeper of Archives and Special Collections at
the School of Oriental and African Studies,
London.
Dr Jocelyn Alexander, University of
Oxford;
Dr Gareth Griffiths, Director of the British
Empire of Commonwealth Museum (BECM);
Professor David Killingray, University of
London;
Mr John Smith CBE, Member of the Board
of Trustees of BECM.
The project is fortunate to have excellent
support from the members of its
Management Board:
Chair: Mrs Rosemary Seton, formerly
Dr Jeater is also a member of the Board,
and Mr Brian Oliver, of the Rhodesian
Army Trust, has kindly agreed to attend
Board meetings.
PROGRESS TO DATE
Tim and Stephen have made great
progress in cataloguing the material in the
boxes at the Museum. They have just
completed their 200th box.
At the first Management Board meeting, it
was reported that by 9th February,
descriptions for the contents of 145 boxes
had been entered into the database,
actually
comprising
345
separate
descriptions. Measured from Stephen’s
arrival in November (before which no
cataloguing took place) this equated to an
impressive rate of 1.8 boxes per day.
In addition to this, 45 authority files
(administrative histories) had been added,
and accessioning guidelines had been
completed.
Arrival of more boxes!
But the work just keeps on coming –
several thousand more boxes arrived from
South Africa just before Easter. We expect
them to be delivered to the Museum as
soon as the storage, shipping and import
details are settled.
It seems that the collection may be even
larger than we originally anticipated, and
although this is very exciting, it also brings
challenges regarding our budget and our
timetable.
Stephen is already working on plans to
recruit archivist trainees to work as
volunteers on some of the more
straightforward parts of the collection.
The main categories of records that they
have catalogued so far are:





records of Army Headquarters,
the Operations Co-ordinating
Committee,
the Joint Planning Staff,
the National Joint Operations
Command, and
Combined Operations (COMOPS)
Headquarters.
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DISCUSSION:
Return of the Empire: private expatriate archives in UK Museums and Libraries
It is too early in the project to be able to
identify specific academic questions about
the history of the Rhodesian Army, arising
out of the collection: we still don’t really
know what’s in most of the boxes.
However, we have had to deal with some
important issues related to the nature of
the project itself – questions about how to
deal with expatriate material, and our
responsibilities towards depositors of such
material; towards potential researchers;
and towards the countries of origin.
These important issues apply across the
museums and galleries sector. In order to
address them, we have applied to the
AHRC for funding for a two-workshop
series bringing together all those with an
interest in such collections and their care.
We are proposing two workshops, one of
which focuses on how museums can meet
the needs of researchers for archival
(rather than display) material, and the
other focusing on the specific challenges
posed by expatriate material.
We are hoping to bring together museum
curators and librarians with archivists,
academics, and other stakeholders, to
discuss how to enhance the UK’s research
holdings on the experience of empire in
the twentieth century. There are practical
and ethical issues that currently stand in
the way of developing research access to
such material. We hope that these
workshops will begin the process of
resolving these problems.
Our realisation that there was a need for
debate on these questions arose directly
out of the cataloguing project. There are
various stakeholders in the project: the
depositors of the archive, the Rhodesian
Army Trust; the Museum, which houses
the collection; the University, which is
managing the project; the researchers
worldwide who have an interest in the
material; and, often overlooked, the people
of Zimbabwe, from where the material
originated. With the passing of the colonial
generation,
there
are
increasing
depositions of such expatriate material in
UK museums and libraries. Typically they
are paper-based archives with enormous
research and educational value, but
limited display potential.
We quickly realised that there were
important ethical and practical issues
associated with the Rhodesian Army
Archive (RAA) project, which, it seemed,
were not peculiar to us. There were
various sources of tension and anxiety
about
display,
cataloguing
and
preservation. There were also significant
concerns about the uses of the material,
including
issues
of
copyright,
confidentiality and access.
These tensions seemed to be replicated
across the sector. It is clear that there are
other organisations and individuals
interested in depositing material with
public institutions, but who are not
confident that these ethical and practical
concerns have been resolved. Similarly,
there are many academics who would
benefit from access to such material, but
cannot easily locate it while it remains in
private hands. Museums, meanwhile,
being oriented towards public display, do
not necessarily have appropriate storage
for archive materials or the ability to
accommodate
academic
researchers
interested in archival material.
We found ourselves dealing with a steady
flow of potential depositors, existing
depositors and academics, all raising
concerns about access to this material. As
we began to address and discuss the
issues, we realised that there is a
significant interest in sharing experiences
and good practice, in an attempt to resolve
these tensions. This is why we have asked
the AHRC for funding for the two
workshops. We are still awaiting the
Council’s decision.
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PLANS, PARTNERSHIPS & NEWS
Oral history project
Request for contacts
UWE is working with Dr Sue Onslow at
the LSE, to attempt to source funding for
an oral history of the national liberation
war.
Dr Onslow has extensive experience as an
oral historian. It is hoped that the
testimonies from the war could form a
companion collection to the RAA
collection.
They may also contribute to the Aluka
Project’s documentation of the liberation
struggles of Southern Africa.
I am a postgraduate student at The
University of Wales, Aberystwyth, currently
pursuing a four-year research project into
the changes and pressures facing
Zimbabweans. My intention is to examine
how landscape is represented and created
as a result of resistance to political and
social change. I am hoping to investigate
this with particular attention to the
relationship between white Zimbabweans,
landscape and identity with regard to the
political changes over the last half century,
focusing specifically on the Zimbabwean
diaspora and contemporary political
events.
To investigate these relationships I would
particularly
like
to
contact
any
Zimbabweans living in the UK, particularly
white
Zimbabweans
who
identify
themselves as Rhodesians or anyone who
otherwise feels that their identity is
particularly challenged by political change.
Much of my research will draw on the
landscape memories of the participants,
so to enable me to produce an accurate
representation of the story of Zimbabwean
experience I would like to speak to as
many people from a range of backgrounds
as possible.
For anyone interested in taking part in this
research or further details I can be
contacted
by
e-mail
at:
cah06@aber.ac.uk,
Or by post at the following address
through my department:
Miss Coralie Hancock, MA,
The Institute of Geography and Earth
Science, University of Wales Aberystwyth,
Penglais Campus, Aberystwyth,
Ceredigion, SY23 3DB
British South Africa Police Association
UWE is also working with Alan Toms of
the BSAPA to attempt to source funding
for the digitisation of the archive of its
magazine, Outpost, which is currently
housed in the National Army Museum,
Chelsea.
It is intended that the digitised version of
Outpost will be hosted on the UWE
website, to provide useful resources for
schools and other educational bodies, as
well as for researchers.
Book launch
The South African publishing company,
30oSouth, publishes histories and memoirs
of conflicts and soldiers, and attempts to
do so from a non-partisan perspective.
It is about to release a regimental history
of The Saints – the Rhodesian Light
Infantry, by Alexandre Binda, compiled
and edited by Chris Cocks. There will be a
launch in London in June.
www.30degreessouth.co.za
It is our intention to produce a regular Newsletter. The purpose of the Newsletter is threefold:
1. Primarily, to provide regular updates on the progress of the cataloguing project.
2. To provide a means for researchers/archivists/curators/publishers working in associated
fields to circulate notices about their work.
3. To provide a forum for discussion about the academic issues associated with the
Rhodesian Army Archive collection.
If you have any items that you would like to be considered for inclusion in the newsletter,
please contact Diana.Jeater@uwe.ac.uk.
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