Archives Assistant Stephanie Basford-Morris reflects on cataloguing her first archive collection, as part of her course in Archive Administration at Aberystwyth University.
From the start of my course this had been an assignment I was really looking forward to, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. I was lucky with the collection itself, which is a personal collection of Marian Henry Jones, (née Phillips), a student (1931-1937) and afterward a History Lecturer (1939-1944) at the University College of Swansea (now Swansea University).
Marian Henry Jones’ life and career
Marian was born into a Welsh speaking family in Upper Brynaman, Carmarthenshire in 1916. She passed her grammar school examinations a year early, and in 1931 – aged just 15 – was enrolled as a student at the University College of Swansea. She studied History, English, French, German, and Philosophy as an undergraduate, and by her third year chose to concentrate on becoming a historian. Marian graduated in 1935 with a first class honours degree in History, and won the Gladstone Memorial Prize.
Marian went on to study for an MA in nineteenth century European history and diplomacy at Swansea. Completing her thesis in 1937, she was one of only two female students that year to gain an MA in Wales. Her choice of subject was inspired by her tutor Professor W.N. Medlicott, her experiences in Germany in 1935, and her friendships with Jewish refugees in Britain.
Marian was then awarded a University of Wales scholarship which allowed her to pursue a PhD at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London (now University College London). Under the guidance of her tutor, the renowned historian, R.W. Seton-Watson, her research topic was the ‘Question of Nationalities in the Austrian Empire 1848-1867’.
Marian visited Vienna for research in 1936 and 1937. She was due to travel again in 1938 however, the annexation of Austria into the German Reich made this impossible. As Marian says in ‘Parachutes and Petticoats’ (1992) ‘The outbreak of war signaled the end of my life as a student’. She began applying for teaching positions. In October 1939, aged just 23, she returned to the History Department at the University College of Swansea as a temporary assistant lecturer, covering for Glyn Roberts who was the first Swansea College staff member to be called away for war duties.
In 1941 Marian married Dr John Henry Jones, Classics lecturer at the University College. In the academic sector at the time, whether or not women kept their jobs after marriage (the marriage bar) was up to an individual institution. A letter in Marian’s collection shows that the University College of Swansea agreed that Marian would not be required to leave her post.
Her husband was called away for Intelligence work soon after they married, working at Bletchley Park until 1944 when he was released to take up a position as Director of Education for Carmarthenshire. Marian resigned her position at Swansea in the same year, and they began life together in Aberystwyth.
Marian Henry Jones continued to write and research history, give lectures, and promote Welsh history and language for the rest of her life. One of her notable achievements was writing Hanes Ewrop, 1815-1871 – a book on the history of Europe in Welsh for Welsh-language secondary schools, which was published in 1982.
The cataloguing process
Background research My first step was to look at some resources to help me piece together a picture of Marian’s life and studies, and thus understand her collection better. This included –
- Marian Phillips (1916-2013) – Peacetime student and wartime lecturer – an essay by Eirlys Mair Barker and Philip Henry Jones (Marian’s son and daughter).
- Marian’s University College of Swansea student record card (Ref: 2013/12)
- ‘Keep calm and carry on’, Marian’s chapter in Leigh Verrill-Rhys and Deidre Beddoe (eds), Parachutes and Petticoats: Welsh women writing on the Second World War (Bridgend: Honno, 1992)
Listing The next step was to assess the material and to begin describing it in detail using our in-house Cataloguing Guidelines (based on ISAD (G), (2000, 2nd edn). I checked the material against the itemised ‘box list’ (made when the collection first came to the Archives), and added any extra notes on dates, context, preservation, and data protection considerations.
It became apparent that, alongside Marian’s papers, there was also a significant amount of material that had belonged to her husband, Dr John Henry Jones. This material is stored in separate boxes, and covers his time studying at Bangor University and as a Classics Lecturer at the University College of Swansea . It was decided that this would be catalogued as a separate collection (and remains uncatalogued for now, ref 2011/21).
Marian Henry Jones’ collection includes –
- detailed notes and notebooks from her student and lecturing years, with associated examination papers, essays and two class registers.
- professional material dating up to 1992, including an annotated copy of Marian’s published work, Hanes Ewrop.
- four folders of academic, professional, and personal correspondence, with associated items such as the regulations for the Beck Hall for women.
- photographs
Arrangement The most challenging part of the process was to decide how to arrange the collection. Applying archival principles of provenance (who created it, how it was used) and original order (how it was arranged by the creator), and with the user in mind, I drew up a few ideas and discussed them with colleagues. The collection fell most naturally into four series – student notes and associated papers, professional notes and associated papers, correspondence and ephemera, and photographs.
The catalogue was completed in Excel, the documents ordered into series, and given a reference number. It has been imported into CALM software and made available via our online catalogue.
Re-packaging The collection had been stored in plastic boxes which are not suitable for long term preservation. The next step was to rehouse the material in acid-free folders and boxes. Rusty staples and pins were replaced with brass paperclips, and any notebooks with inserted papers, and/or fragile spines were tied with archive tape.
Collection highlights
Correspondence in the collection reveals the extent of the academic support and encouragement from Marian’s History tutors at University College of Swansea, Professor W.N. Medlicott and Professor E. Ernest Hughes, who became her lifelong friends. Another notable correspondent is R.W. Seton-Watson, Marian’s PhD tutor, who founded the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at Columbia University in 1915 (now part of the University College London). Seton-Watson was also a renowned historian and political activist, and he arranged for Marian’s accommodation in Vienna when she traveled there for research in 1936.
Some letters also give us insight into war experiences during the Second World War. One memorable entry from a friend of Marian’s describes visiting an anti-Jewish exhibition in Vienna which she calls ‘vile’ (UNI/SU/PC/13/3/2).
My favourite item in the collection is Marian’s public library card stating her age of 16 and address at Beck Hall, the all-female halls of residence in the Uplands, Swansea (UNI/SU/PC/13/1/3). Her academic excellence, and the encouragement of her father and headmaster had allowed her entry to university at a young age, and for me this item conjures up the image of a teenager away from home for the first time, perhaps finding safety and comfort in the shelves of the local library.
Final thoughts
Cataloguing the Marian Henry Jones collection was an engaging and interesting first experience of one of the most important tasks of an archive service. As an Archives Assistant I often see the end result – researchers using the catalogue to identify items which I pass to them in the Reading Room. This assignment gave me insight into the cataloguing process from start to finish, including the decision making and best practice behind it. It also presented me with some unexpected challenges to learn from, such as working through reasons for and against moving Dr Henry Jones’ papers to a stand-alone collection.
The collection would be of interest to researchers interested in topics such as –
- women in academia (1930s-1940s)
- home life, and personal perspectives on the Second World War (told through correspondence)
- the history of Swansea University and the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (as seen through official correspondence, programmes, and prospectuses)
Please do visit the catalogue to find out more, and have a look at our guide to the University collections.
Stephanie Basford-Morris
Archives Assistant