14 March 2011
Behind the walls of the old building in the Port of Dover’s Eastern Docks a dedicated team is doing their bit to preserve the history of the port for future generations. Dover Harbour Board employees Chris Knight, Bob Wainwright, Andy Rintoul, and Andy’s father Ian Rintoul (now retired) all have a passion for the port and its history and have undertaken a mammoth task which is now entering its third year and there’s still a way to go!
Cataloguing almost 42 albums of photographs that date back to the 1880’s is not something to be rushed and the team are making sure the archiving is done correctly with advice from archivists at Dover Museum, Kent Archives and Canterbury Cathedral.
Although the pictures are generally in an excellent condition, despite a few damp stains, Chris and Ian noticed that some of the albums were deteriorating and felt that action should be taken to preserve the photographs for staff reference, local knowledge and ultimately national heritage.
Armed with scanners, copying stands and cameras the team secured a site within the Eastern Docks and kick-started the archiving process.
Chris Knight said; “the team is photographing the contents of the 42 albums, filing by the year if possible and storing the pictures onto our computer system while I scan in the loose photographs and any associated copy onto a laptop. The aim is that staff will eventually be able to access all the photographs using a subject search to satisfy any enquiries from the public while the originals are stored away in suitable containers.”
There have been some great finds such as a letter from Winston Churchill written in 1941 thanking the staff of Dover Harbour Board for their good wishes and recognising the sacrifice of the people of Dover.
Other historical gems may still lie undiscovered - waiting for the archivists to reveal all!
PICTURES: As well as documents of historical importance some B/W photo’s of VIP visits to Dover have turned up including Catherine Zeta Jones before Hollywood beckoned (with Pam Ferris) at the Cruise Terminal and pop icon Michael Jackson meeting an unnamed ferry captain on a trip to the UK.
Many thanks to Elaine Lynch at DHB for the feature above. PB.
