Tag: archives

Exclusive exhibition invites public to share their fondest Edinburgh Zoo memories

As Edinburgh Zoo celebrates 110 years, recently retired keeper Karen Stiven shares her favourite memories and encourages the public to add their own stories to the archive

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) is inviting members of the public to share their memories of Edinburgh Zoo as part of its 110th anniversary celebrations, helping to preserve the stories that have made the zoo a cherished part of Scottish life since it first opened in 1913.

Among them is Karen Stiven, who has recently retired after 45 years at RZSS. Joining the zoo in 1981, Karen dedicated her career to caring for a number of animals from birds to hoofstock and became one of the zoo’s longest-serving keepers.

Now retired from her role as Experienced Keeper, Karen has witnessed decades of change at Edinburgh Zoo. One of her fondest memories is hand-rearing a young hippo, Cleo, a challenge that involved sleepless nights and round the clock care. Seeing the calf grow and thrive made all the hard work worthwhile and remains one of Karen’s most treasured memories.

Karen believes preserving the zoo’s history is just as important as creating new memories for future generations. She said: “Having these archives is a huge achievement.

“They allow people to look back and see where everything started, how much has changed and how far we’ve come.

“The stories are incredibly important and I hope people continue adding their own memories so future generations can do the same for many years to come.”

The appeal comes as RZSS continues to uncover and preserve stories from across its history. While archive collections contain official records and photographs, the charity says some of the most valuable insights come from the personal memories of people who have visited, worked at or supported Edinburgh Zoo over the years.

David Field, CEO of RZSS, said: “Karen’s story is a wonderful example of the memories that make Edinburgh Zoo so special. After 45 years of dedication, she has been part of countless moments that have shaped the zoo’s history.

“Karen’s story is just one of thousands and for 110 years, Edinburgh Zoo has played a part in the lives of people across Scotland and beyond.

“We know there are an abundance of family photographs, favourite animal encounters, school trip memories and personal stories waiting to be shared, and we would love to hear them. Every memory helps us build a clearer picture of our past and preserve it for future generations.”

Members of the public can share photographs, souvenirs and other memorabilia with the team as part of Memories Week running from 13 – 21 June, helping ensure the next chapter of Edinburgh Zoo’s story is recorded alongside the first 110 years.

The Germans in Britain

(now there’s a headline to get Daily Mail readers spluttering over their corn flakes!)

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An exhibition that highlights the immense contribution by Germans to British life is being shown in Scotland for the first time at National Records of Scotland.

Among the documents from the national archives chosen to tell the story of Germans in Scotland is a register recording the baptism in 1598 of the son of the German doctor who attended Anne of Denmark, James VI’s queen.

The free exhibition explores the many facets of the long and productive relationship between Germans living and working in Britain and their hosts. It has been created by the Migration Museum Project in order to celebrate the history of co-operation and friendly relations between Britain and Germany.

The pop-up exhibition looks at how German connections have shaped everything from sport, business, the monarchy, science, music and the creative arts, and is complemented by specially selected original documents from the huge holdings of National Records of Scotland.

The exhibition at General Register House, 2 Princes Street, runs from 6 July until 7 August, Monday – Friday, 9am – 4.30.

Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, said: “This exhibition celebrates the strong historic links between Germany and Britain and highlights bonds between the people of our two nations stemming back hundreds of years. Our archive provides a fascinating insight into some of the close ties that have connected the people of Scotland and Germany over the centuries.”

Tim Ellis, Keeper of the Records of Scotland and Registrar General, said: “We’re delighted to be hosting this fascinating exploration of the long contacts between Britain and Germany, and to be able to complement it with gems from our own archives that record the presence of Germans in Scotland for more than 400 years. The exhibition has been made possible by our partnership with the German Consulate General in Scotland and the Migration Museum Project.”

Verena Gräfin von Roedern, German Consul General in Scotland, said: “We are delighted that this important exhibition has found its way to Scotland. A huge number of Germans have become an active part of British society. According to the 2011 census, more than twenty thousand Germans are currently resident in Scotland. As Consul General it has been my pleasure to get to know Germans from all walks of life, who contribute amongst others to Scotland’s higher education institutes, national health services, cultural and even culinary landscape.”

Sophie Henderson, Project Director, Migration Museum Project, said: “It is very exciting for us at the Migration Museum Project to see German–Scottish histories drawn out and spotlighted in this way, using our exhibition as a backdrop. The long history of German migrants in Scotland, beautifully demonstrated with material from National Records of Scotland, goes to show that immigration is not just some awkward, new phenomenon, but a rich, old story and one that is, in many cases, still waiting to be told.”

Records reveal the Scots who went to war

Records of births in 1914, marriages in 1939 and deaths in 1964 from the National Records of Scotland reveal details of Scots at the start of two World Wars

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New online releases of births, marriages and deaths published today (1 January) by the National Records of Scotland reveal how patriotism gripped parents of babies in 1914, and how the outbreak of war in 1939 prompted couples to marry.

The final few months of 1914 witnessed a new fashion for naming boys Kitchener after Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War. Field Marshal Lord Kitchener’s face adorned the famous recruiting posters at the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. He was responsible for increasing the British Army from six regular and fourteen divisions to seventy divisions by the creation of the ‘New Armies’ named after him.

Among the 123,394 births in 1914, record-keepers in the National Records of Scotland (NRS) found 21 boys given the first or middle name of Kitchener, including John Kitchener Hay, born 13 December 1914. His mother Beatrice registered her son’s birth, because her husband John was already in uniform as a lance sergeant in the Royal Army Medical Corps.

NRS have also identified three girls who were given Kitchener as a middle name; all were born in 1916, the year that Lord Kitchener perished when HMS Hampshire was sunk off Orkney. Between 1914 and 1918 a total of 73 Scottish children were named Kitchener, and 9 boys named Horatio Herbert, the Field Marshal’s first names. 43 boys were named Jellicoe during this period, after Admiral John Jellicoe, Commander of the Fleet and from 1916 First Sea Lord.

At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, there was a surge in the number of marriages in Scotland, as young couples rushed to wed before the men were posted overseas. There were 7,541 more marriages than in 1938. The total of 46,257 marriages came very close to the peak of 46,754 that occurred in the record-breaking year of 1920. This made 1939 the year with the second-highest number of marriages recorded to date in Scotland.

One couple tying the knot were Alexander Thomson Arundel, aged 21, lance corporal in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, who was based at Bhurtpore Barracks, Tidworth, Wiltshire, and Jane Fulton from Glasgow, a 19-year old who worked in a fruit shop. He survived the war and died in 1973.

Some well-known Scots born in 1914 include Gavin Maxwell (1914-1969), naturalist and author of Ring of Bright Water, who was born on 15 July 1914 at House of Elrig, Mochrum, Wigtownshire. Norman McLaren (1914-1987), documentary film-maker, was born William Norman McLaren, on 11 April 1914 at 21 Albert Place Stirling, the son of William McLaren, a master housepainter. He went on to become an award winning film-maker who made films for the GPO film unit, the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation and the National Film Board of Canada. Not among the release of 1914 births is Tom Weir (1914-2006), the climber and broadcaster, whose birth on 29 December 1914 was not registered until January 1915.

Tim Ellis, Registrar General and Keeper of the Records of Scotland, said: “We know that the latest additions to our online resources on ScotlandsPeople will be very useful for family history and other researchers, particularly as the registers for 1914 contain information about Scots at the start of the First World War”.