‘Oxford and War’ Project Update 2021

In 2019, Hanna was awarded a Heritage Seed Fund grant for a curatorial research project ‘Oxford and War’ with the Museum of Oxford, to support the redevelopment of their new permanent galleries. Two years later, the new galleries are now open!

My remit for the ‘Oxford and War’ project in 2019 was both exciting and staggering: in the space of three months, to conduct extensive archival and collections-based research on anything that related to Oxford and war, and write a first draft of interpretive text on that content. I quickly narrowed the scope in two ways – by focusing specifically on 20th-century conflict, and by examining stories that highlighted how conflict created international connections between Oxford and the wider world.

After a rather frenetic 2019 summer of research and writing for the project – during which I also passed my viva for my DPhil in Global & Imperial History, with a thesis on First World War commemoration – I submitted draft interpretation, annotated notes, and photos of archival documents to the Museum, knowing it would be a few years before I saw the final result. In 2020 the Museum sent me a revised version of some of the interpretation, which included additional work by their colleagues that they asked me to fact check; but having worked on exhibition teams previously, I knew it would still undergo several more iterations and pass through several more hands before appearing in the new galleries, so I was very excited to see the final version.

Shortly after my thesis defense and finishing ‘Oxford and War’, I was hired by the University of Oxford’s Heritage Partnerships Team, which I still currently work on. In October 2021 the Museum opened its new galleries, and the Heritage Partnerships team (Oliver Cox, Alice Purkiss, Katerina Vavaliou, and myself) walked over from our nearby office to see them in person. I was delighted to see that Hardit Singh Malik (Oxford student and first Indian fighter pilot in the world) was selected from my research to be highlighted as one of the key figures in Oxford’s history, receiving a special feature in the display case and an illustrated portrait in the entryway. I also enjoyed seeing the rest of the new galleries, which have been grouped into thematic displays (of which ‘Oxford and War’, rebranded as ‘International Conflict’, is just one of many) and include an engaging mix of digital and hands-on interactives.

Congratulations to the Museum of Oxford on their reopening and thanks again to the TORCH Heritage Seed Fund for its support of this project. Free tickets to the museum can be booked via the museum's website.

‘International Conflict’ display case, Museum of Oxford 2021. Photo by Hanna Smyth.

Featured Oxford historical figures including Hardit Singh Malik, second from right. Photo by Hanna Smyth.

Hanna is the National Trust Support Officer on the university’s Heritage Partnerships Team and the Public Engagement with Research Grants Coordinator on the university’s Innovation & Engagement Team. To read more about her Heritage Seed Fund project you can read her 2019 project blog posts here and here.

Find out more about the National Trust Partnership here.

Find out more about the TORCH Heritage Programme here.