Friday 22 June 2012

Graduation for CAIS students, Dundee 2012


Congratulations to all our students who graduated this week! 27 students across the various programmes graduated on Tuesday 19th June. Graduation is a special day for all to celebrate the hard work that they have put in to achieve their awards and, to add to the occasion, the sun was shining in Dundee for those who attended the ceremony. We hope that those who were not able to attend in person celebrated in suitable style. 

Some of the students who graduated and were able to
attend the ceremony in Dundee

Students attending the ceremony came from the UK, Ireland and Malta and students graduated from the following programmes:
  • Postgraduate Certificate Family and Local History
  • Postgraduate Certificate Records Management and Information Rights
  • Postgraduate Diploma Archives and Records Management
  • Postgraduate Diploma Records Management and Information Rights
  • MLitt Archives and Records Management
  • MSc Records Management and Information Rights
  • MSc Records Management and Digital Preservation 

A welcome for the students leaving the ceremony

Good luck to everyone for the future and we hope to see some of you again, perhaps enrolling on modules for Continuing Professional Development. For more information about any of our programmes visit www.dundee.ac.uk/cais or email armtraining@dundee.ac.uk.

Friday 15 June 2012

Football crazy in the archives ...


In honour of Euro 2012 we thought it would be nice to say a little bit about the records we have relating to football. Many of you will have seen the Peto image of  Lajos Tichy’s goal for Hungary  on our website. Although not generally noted for photographing sporting events, Michael Peto did take a series of photographs of this epic international friendly between Hungary and West Germany in 1959 which ended  4-3 in the host nation’s favour.  Peto had earlier taken official photographs of England’s 7-1 defeat by Hungary in 1954.

We have a few interesting records relating to local sides most notably a share prospectus and blank share forms for Dundee United dating from 1925 (MS 261). Additionally in the Sidlaw Industries Collection (MS 66) there are several aerial photographs which show Dundee United’s Tannadice Park and Dens Park, the home of Dundee FC, in 1922. 

Aerial view of Tannadice Park (on right) and Dens Park (top)
These are significant because they show how both grounds have been developed beyond recognition.  Photographs of both grounds dating from the 1960s can be found in the Thomas C Keay Ltd Collection (MS 94). Both clubs’ grounds, which are the closest together of any senior football teams in the UK, are located on the former Clepington Estate owned by William Neish of Tannadice and Clepington, whose family’s papers were the subject of an earlier blog.

The records of the University of Dundee and its predecessors contain material relating to various student sporting teams including a number of football XI’s.  One of the most interesting items is a photograph of a University College, Dundee team taken during World War Two which features future Tottenham Hostspur and Northern Ireland star Danny Blanchflower among the players.  At the time he was attending a course at the College, then part of the University of St Andrews, while serving in the RAF.  

Blanchflower is second from the right front row
and Quskaly far right, back row
A key figure associated with all University sports teams in Dundee was Jack Qusklay, the Director of Physical Education from 1936 until 1968, who had worked as a trainer to Dundee, Dundee United, Celtic and the Scottish national team at various points in his career. Quskaly was a very popular figure at the University and had been a talented boxer in his youth.

Other collections also have some interesting football related items. The papers of D. J. MacDonald (MS 93) feature photographs of that firm’s football team and a speech its owner made at a football match to raise fund for Dundee Royal Infirmary.  The Kinnear Local Book Collection features books on Dundee United, Dundee, Raith Rovers and Dunfermline Athletic among others.  The collection also contains the Dundee Directories which provide good details of club and association officials. The NHS Tayside Archives contain a number of records relating to football being played in hospitals in Tayside, as well as a photograph of St Johnstone’s long serving goalkeeper Derek Robertson participating in a ‘beat the goalie’ competition at an event at Murray Royal Hospital.  Perhaps the most unusual football related item we have is a picture of a team from the SS Active (a Dundee whaler) posing on the Arctic ice in 1894!

SS Active team 1894
If you are interested in consulting these or any of our collections please visit the archive or get in touch. Our contact details and further information are www.dundee.ac.uk/archives. Our email address is archives@dundee.ac.uk.

Kenneth Baxter

Monday 4 June 2012

The wrong end of the building…



More accustomed to working in the basement of the University Tower Building, on Saturday Michael Bolik of Archive Services found himself on the roof of the building, preparing to descend 140 feet straight to the ground. He was taking part in a charity abseil to raise funds for Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland, which also gave him the opportunity to conquer one or two fears – such as a fear of heights! However, Michael had always had an odd desire to attempt abseiling, and when the leaflets advertising the event appeared his colleagues encouraged him to sign up. “I registered on the CHSS website and that was me committed,” said Michael. “And when people began to donate there was just no getting out of it.”

Michael confessed to feeling quite tense during the weeks leading up to the event each time he thought of actually standing on the roof of the Tower. Indeed, this turned out to be the most difficult moment of the whole experience. “The worst bit is climbing over the railing at the top and then leaning back,” Michael explained. “Then it becomes all about trust. We had been told a couple of times that abseiling is safer than crossing the road, but that was little comfort on the edge of the Tower roof leaning back at a 45 degree angle!” However, the team on hand to ensure that the abseil went smoothly were very professional and coached the participants at each stage, thus instilling a level of confidence. In fact, one of the most surprising things about the abseil was that it seemed to be over very quickly. “When I passed the Principal’s Office, which juts out of the building on the fourth floor I knew I was more than half way down,” said Michael.

All in all it was a worthwhile experience and Michael’s family, friends, colleagues - and even complete strangers – donated generously to the charity. There is still time for last minute donations on Michael’s JustGiving page:  http://www.justgiving.com/michael-bolik

The acid test of the experience is whether or not Michael would ever contemplate abseiling again. His response to this question is “Definitely!”

(Photographs taken by Kenneth Baxter and Kristian Bolik)