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Dear all.
Many, if not all of you, will know there was a burst pipe in the A7CA Archive and this caused some damage to parts of the collection - fortunately, this wasn’t as disastrous as first thought and Association Insurance has covered the restoration of most of the items that suffered water damage.
As a result of this event, more attention has been brought to bear on the condition of the collection generally, its 'security' in terms of copies of each item and the provision of web access to a ‘digitised’ version of the collection. In the last couple of months, a group has been brought together to help in this process and bring some 'formality' to the work. 2 meetings of that group have already taken place and work has now started in earnest. It was agreed at an A7CA Committee meeting a while back that monthly updates would be published to let the wider A7 community know progress and the minutes of this group, who are now meeting regularly, hopefully will provide this. The minutes of the first 2 meetings are now available to be seen at http://a7ca.org/austin-seven/archives/archive-project/. A further report will soon be added, written by Phil Baildon, Association Archivist, to bring everyone up to date as what happened between the flood and the date of the first meeting.
I cannot promise that this thread will provide a forum for wider discussion about the Project, though please rest assured that the group now working on the Archive will be monitoring this thread and take notice of any comments made. Issues raised here will be discussed at the Monthly meetings and responded to through the minutes of that group.
I am very hopeful that something concrete will be delivered in the New Year (I can't be more precise at this time) and that the complete Collection will be dealt with over the coming months, though there is much to do... Anyone living within striking distance of the Archive (Lubenham, Leicestershire) and has some time they could offer to the Project should approach Phil Baildon (contact details on the inside front cover of the 'Grey Mag') with offers of helping the reorganisation of the collection in readiness for further work..
Hugh
Location: cambs
Hugh,my sincerest thanks for the latest news, I do hope that my questioning as to what the situation was has not ruffled too many feathers, but although it's unlikely that I will ever use the information,I did so in the interest of all sevenists,now and in the future.Once again a big thank you.P.
Location: Piddle valley, Dorchester.
Thank you Hugh. At last there's a faint glimmer that all concerned members won't be kept completely in the dark, as up to now. And Thanks too to Peter for the stirring up, long overdue. Cheers, Bill in Oz
Further news.
Work will start this week in the reorganization of the collection prior to the more substantive work of scanning etc leading to the publication of the 'digital archive'. Thursday is the day that has been found to be most convenient for the 'core' team. As I mentioned in my initial posting, if anyone in striking distance of Lubenham would like to help in this work and are free on Thursdays, please contact Phil Baildon, whose contact details can be found in the inside cover of the Grey Mag.
many thanks
Hugh
Location: cambs
An update provided by Chris Garner as to progress made at Lubenham yesterday:
A7CA Archives - Lubenham
26th November 2015
Present:
Phil Baildon
Dave Martin
Chris Garner
We spent around four hours at the Archive today commencing the sorting of items. The following items were dealt with:
1. Duplicate copies of body and mechanical parts drawing were separated off, rolled and stored.
2. The drawing of the Austin Seven Saloon in Section, signed "Stanley Edge" separated for encapsulation. (I may have a better copy which I will donate - CG)
3. A selection of mainly mechanical parts drawings sorted into originals and copies. We suggest originals are encapsulated. Some require restoration.
PB to investigate
4. A selection of original sales brochures were found, sorted and placed in protective sleeves.
5. Supercharger Cozette no 4 drawing found and logged
6. A selection of original Seven drawings were sorted as follows:
'37 Steering column
'37 Rear axle
'37 Front axle
LWB Chassis (possibly a copy)
'38/'39 Chassis & brake layout
'28 Crankshaft
'36 Chassis
'32 Flywheel
All the above require conservation and encapsulation. All have been de-rolled, flattened and stored together with the collection of already encapsulated drawings
7. Sorted large quantity of large scale drawings, removed duplicates (but retained), arranged in date order and filed
8. Post war drawn Seven drawings, together with copies (made by the late Andrew Tennyson, PWA7C member in the 1960s) were sorted and filed.
9. Production Despatch Quantity sheets from Bob Wyatt (16 in total) fragile and need physically copying to preserve. PB action.
(As well as Seven production this includes details of Ten and Twelve HP models which could be made available to the VAR)
We believe we have now separated all the Austin items of the Stanley Edge archive from the non Austin items. We suggest that, eventually, the non Austin material be sorted and distributed to other relevant clubs / organisations.
We also found 4 Austin items of around 1919 which we think should be offered to the VAR, Imperial War Museum, Hendon whoever.. To be determined...
All individual drawings have now been filed in the Plan Chest and the large central table in the Archive Room is clear of material.
Chris Garner
Due to commitments by all parties, the next visit will be in two weeks, Thursday, 10th December. Offers of help gratefully received.
Location: cambs
I would be there Chris! If 10,000 miles did not intervene, and I endorse Chris's call for help to augment the meager numbers at that meeting. Thank you all for the work that you are doing! regards Russell 
Location: oz
The Archive page has been further updated this evening with a piece from Phil Baildon, A7CA Archivist giving the background to the origins of the Archive and outlining the flood story in greater detail.
All can be found here - http://a7ca.org/austin-seven/archives/archive-project/
thanks to Phil for his efforts..
Hugh
Location: cambs
Thank you Hugh and Phil, an interesting and helpful story.
Hopefully this will calm the earlier forum posters and lead to more assistance.
Like Squeak I would love to help but time and distance are against us!
Keep up the good work.
Tony.
Location: Malvern, Melbourne.
Just a reminder, the small but dedicated group will be in residence at Lubenham again this Thursday (10th December) carrying on the work at the Archive. There are one or two specific tasks on the list for this week - checking collections of handbooks, parts lists and sales brochures, I believe, amongst others. As ever, extra volunteer help would always be welcome. If you can spare some time, please contact Chris Garner for further details. Contact details can be found on the inside cover of the Grey Mag..
Location: cambs
A further update has been provided by Chris Garner as to progress made at Lubenham last Thursday. His report has been published on the Archive Project web page here
http://a7ca.org/newsarchive/archive-project-meeting-19th-december-2015/
Please take some time to read it through. Many thanks to Chris, Phil Baildon and Dave Martin for spending their Thursdays working through the collection.
As a result of the verification of the Handbooks and Parts lists carried out last Thursday, we now have a complete list of all publications required to complete our set. The list can be found here:-
http://a7ca.org/newsarchive/missing-publications/
The list contains all publications that are either missing, are in poor condition or are only held as photocopies. We only want to digitise good condition original items and we are hoping for donations or loan copies of entries on the list to permit that.
This is a very real opportunity for all of the Austin 7 Community to help in the Project, so please scan your bookshelves to see if you have one or more of the missing copies. Phil Baildon would be delighted to hear from you if you can help. His contact details can be found on the Committee and Officers page of the Association site here - http://a7ca.org/about-us/committee/
Many thanks in advance for any offers forthcoming.
Location: cambs
Hello all..
2 new documents have been published today on the Archive pages of the Association Web site. They can be found here:
http://a7ca.org/newsarchive/stage-1-of-digitisation-project/
The 2 documents relate to our initial gathering of quotes for the first phase in digitisation (handbooks, Parts Lists, Parts index cards) and a proposal for a number of the Project team to attend a training day in Archive Techniques run by Hampshire County Council.
These 2 documents are to be put before the Association Meeting in early January as part of our request for the first tranche of funding of the Project. They will be circulated to all Member Clubs (by Bob Prophet, Association Secretary) for internal Club discussion before that meeting and vote. A formal proposal for the grant of those funds is forthcoming..
As a reminder, we are still searching for Handbooks and Parts Lists as laid out in the list here. Can I repeat my earlier request, if you have any that you are able to loan or donate, Phil Baildon, Association Archivist will be delighted to hear from you. Offers have started to come in but more are needed.
Merry Christmas to all!
Hugh
Location: cambs
We've had another productive meeting today to discuss progress of the Archive Project, the minutes of which will be published in the next few days. One of the topics we discussed was the possibility of making a Heritage Lottery Fund Grant application to fund some of the strands of work that will take place as part of the Project. Making a Grant application is a specialised piece of work and we would like to find anyone in the wider Austin 7 community that has had experience in this area to help us.
If you or anyone you know has such experience, I would be delighted to hear from you. As not everyone in the Austin 7 world subscribes to A7Friends, if you get the chance, please ask around at your Club meetings..
many thanks in advance..
Hugh
Location: cambs
Work continued at the archive last Thursday by Phil Baildon, Dave Martin and Chris Garner - in preparation for the second trench of scanning sorted and ordered archive material ready to be dispatched to our Contractors for the first and second tranche of digitisation.
A detailed report of this work will be uploaded to the Association Website in the next few days.
As Ruairidh suggested in his earlier posting, the Archive pages on the Association web site have been updated this evening with a report of progress from last Thursday...
http://a7ca.org/newsarchive/archive-progress-update-14th-january-2016/
Hugh
Location: cambs
And a further update this morning with the publication of the most recent set of minutes from the Project Team meeting. There is a gathering momentum now in the Project so please take a few minutes to have a read and check on progress. They can be found at
http://a7ca.org/newsarchive/archive-project-meeting-10th-january-2016/
Hugh
Location: cambs
The Project has reached a bit of a landmark today with the publication of our first set of digitised images. Through the efforts of Nick Turley and the generous provision of some of his staff time, we now have a wonderful set of photos of this part of the collection. Chris Charles, our web master, has also been busy and has created a set of new pages on which to to display them. These can be found at www.a7ca.org/trophies/ They can also be navigated to via the menu on the Association web site under Austin-Seven>Archives.
I should point out that this is only an interim solution and that we will be creating a more sophisticated system in the fullness of time that will allow searching, the ability to leave comments etc, etc,..
Location: cambs
The link above doesn't work Hugh but this should
http://a7ca.org/austin-seven/archives/trophies
Steve
Location: North Yorkshire
The project now has a 'formal' email address should anyone want to get in touch, offer help, etc. You can now mail the Project Team direct at
archiveproject@a7ca.org
Hugh
Location: cambs
Hugh thanks for the update, from what I see, a fair amount of work has been done by you all. The costs seem to me to be excellent value. The effort is appreciated, Thank you all.
Location: Piddle Valley Dorchester
Thanks for a very comprehensive and informative report on the current work in progress. Thanks also to all who are donating their valuable time to the project. As they say "There is no time like the present"...BUT "There is no more precious present than giving your time."
Location: Colchester
Today represents another landmark in the life of the Archive Project, with the publication of our first sample of digitisation work back from our contractors, Hampshire County Council. They have provided us a copy of the very first Handbook, no. 352 and the first section of the famous 'Index Cards' for our review.
As we have done with the Trophy photographs, Chris Charles, our Web Master has published the Index Cards on an interim web page, so you can get to see them in all their glory, the Handbook has been published using the template already set up for Handbooks etc.
The items can be found here:
The Handbook is on the usual literature page -
http://a7ca.org/austin-seven/archives/literature/
click on the high-lighted Handbook link '352'
The new Index Cards Page can be found here:
http://a7ca.org/austin-seven/archives/index-cards/
It is expected that we will have the full set of digitised images of Handbooks, Parts Lists and Index Cards back in the summer and we are currently working on plans to have a more sophisticated Archive web site ready by that time. We are in the early planning stage for that.
Location: Cambridge
The Austin 7 Clubs Association Archive Project has a vacancy for a:
Digital Archivist
With the Project to digitise the Association Archive and publish it on the Web now gaining momentum, the Association is seeking to fill the volunteer post of ‘Digital Archivist’. This exciting new post will have the responsibilities of curating of the Digital collection, identifying original materials for digitisation, managing the digitisation process and to maintain a catalogue of the Archive contents.
The successful candidate will have excellent communication and computer skills and likely have a background in Archive management, library or IT disciplines.
For further details and a job description, please contact Hugh Barnes – archiveproject@a7ca.org
If you have an interest in this, please get in touch. Alternatively, if know of anyone who you think might be interested, please do point this out to them. The position will be of great importance to the Project in the short term and the Association as a whole going forward.
Thank you
Location: Cambridge
Hello everyone. The minutes of our latest meeting can be found here:
http://a7ca.org/austin-seven/archives/archive-project/
Please take a minute to read them if possible..
many thanks
Hugh
Location: Cambridge
I get the feeling that this is a frustrating time for those working on the project, things not moving forward as fast as hoped?
I'm a new boy with not a great deal of knowledge and too far away to assist really, but I can see that things have moved forward greatly and all concerned should take a pat on the back for the work done so far.
I look forward to seeing more "stuff" as the work progresses.
As part of the Archive Project, one of our aims is to improve access to the collection. As such, I'm pleased to announce the following:
The Archive Room of the Austin Seven Clubs' Association will be open from 10.00 am 'til 4.00 pm on Sunday 14th August
The Archive has a large number of original handbooks and parts books, advertising literature, brochures, drawings, Stanley Edge and Bert Hadley material, together with a fine selection of cups and awards. Progress to date on our digitising project will also be on display.
This is an opportunity to look at the vast amount of resource we have and meet up with members of the Archive Team and fellow enthusiasts.
No appointment necessary - just turn up. We will be delighted to see you.
Refreshments are available with some good pubs in the village!
The Archives are situated at:
The Triumph Sports Car Club Limited premises
Sunderland Court
Main Street
Lubenham, Leicestershire
LE16 9TF.
(Situated four miles west of Market Harborough on the A4304. Parking available on site)
Location: Cambridge
More Archive Project information is available today with the publication of the minutes of the Team meeting held last Thursday. They can be found in the usual location - http://a7ca.org/austin-seven/archives/archive-project/
Hugh
Location: Cambridge
Another Archive Project update has been posted today on the Association web site with minutes of the last Project Team meeting. As usual, they can be found here.
On the same page, you will also find that you can now sign up to receive email updates on Project progress.
Can I also take this opportunity of reminding you of the Archives Open Day on Sunday 14th August. The Archive will be open from 10am to 4pm and all are welcome. The Archives are situated at the Triumph Sports Car Club premises, Sunderland Court, Main Street, Lubenham, Leicestershire, LE16 9TF.
I look forward to seeing many of you there...
Hugh
Location: Cambridge
Hello all..
One last reminder that the Archive Room of the Austin Seven Clubs' Association will be open from 10.00 am 'til 4.00 pm this coming Sunday, the 14th August.
The Archive has a large number of original handbooks and parts books, advertising literature, brochures, drawings, Stanley Edge and Bert Hadley material, together with a fine selection of cups and awards. Progress to date on our digitising project will also be on display.
This is an opportunity to look at the vast amount of resource we have and meet up with members of the Archive Team and fellow enthusiasts.
No appointment necessary - just turn up. We will be delighted to see you.
Refreshments are available with some good pubs in the village!
The Archives are situated at:
The Triumph Sports Car Club Limited premises
Sunderland Court
Main Street
Lubenham, Leicestershire
LE16 9TF.
(Situated four miles west of Market Harborough on the A4304. Parking available on site)
Location: Cambridge
Location: Cambridge
Just a brief update on the Archive Open Day yesterday. We had a steady stream of visitors at Lubenham, all of whom seemed to enjoy their visit. I think the thing that struck me was the length of time people stayed, reflecting the interest that was being shown in the items on view. One of my personal highlights was the couple that arrived towards the end of the day. They were not Austin 7 owners but had an interest in 'classic' cars in general and had noticed the signage when passing and called in to see what was going on. I spent some time with them talking about the Austin 7 in general, the collection and the Project itself. They were completely blown away by the Archive and were amazed with the items on show. We should not lose sight of how lucky we are to have such an extraordinary collection..
Thanks to all who worked so hard to put the display on, particularly Phil Baildon who planned the event. Thanks also to those who turned up on the day.
A more comprehensive report on the day will appear elsewhere in time.
Location: Cambridge
May I endorse Hugh's comments? I arrived around 11am expecting to stay for about an hour; I was still there when everything was being packed up at 4pm! The extent of the Archive is quite mind-blowing, and anyone who thought they might attend and in the end didn't bother missed a real treat. I hope this can be made an annual event, in which case make sure you put it in your diary (although if it became much more popular then parking would become a problem!).
Good to see so many faces I only knew as names, and the long-haul award goes to Roger Price from York.
Sevens did attend thanks to Alan Garaghty, Robin Boyce, John Gray, Micheal Shearer, and there were others I missed being mostly inside the rooms.
Annual- yes it can be but to avoid rally and holiday season we could have 2017 away from summer-any preferences for Spring or Autumn.
Parking-when TSSC held their Open day some very tight end to end parking including the lawn squeezed 30 cars in but of course it was tough if you needed to leave early!
I will have a look at Nick Turley's photos and see if I can add names and maybe parts of some of the conversations. I am pleased to say Stuart Ulph added names to Mike's old photo-we suspect a hotel in Ireland near to the 1929 TT race with Charlie Goodacre the wavy haired young man who looked very familiar. This photo was too poor for 1970 print technology of Wilfred Edmonds from Chesterfield, our first Grey Mag printers where Mike worked, but here we are in the digital age-it can now be used, as can the sorry looking SHELL PUMP SERVICE van with very crushed front end and a tyre as smooth as a baby's b...
Phil.
I thought the event was great.
Well done to the team that did all the hard work !
It feels like we have made fantastic progress towards having a digital archive that all Austin seven owners can share.
Big efforts from a team seems to be getting it done - Mr Barnes is good at conducting the orchestra !
Elephants and bite size chunks come to mind.
As an Austin seven owner I am delighted.
Location: The Centre of the Universe
Excellent day yesterday at the Archive. Thanks to Phil and his team of helpers for all their hard work in preparation. Much to see and enjoy.
Location: sat in garden
Nick, can you email me please about photos (can't email you from Friends)
The minutes of our latest team meeting have been posted today in their usual place.
http://a7ca.org/austin-seven/archives/archive-project/
Much progress to report and much work still to do!
Hugh
Location: Cambridge
Minutes from the latest meeting have been published today and can be found here
http://a7ca.org/newsarchive/archive-project-meeting-9th-october-2016/
thanks
Hugh
Location: Cambridge
Our project has seemingly been well received in the Archives world generally (from feedback I have had) and a rather nice acknowledgement of that was the invitation to write a small piece for Hampshire County Council's on-line magazine where we are 'Archive of the month' this month.
https://www.hants.gov.uk/news/yourhampshire/archive
Location: Cambridge
A year ago today, we held our first meeting of the Archive Project Team and I thought it was worth looking back over the year and thinking about what we have achieved in that time frame..
If we cast our mind back to a year ago, the collection was suffering from the after effects of the infamous ‘burst pipe’ event and, although we were incredibly lucky to have got off as lightly as we did, the collection had been turned upside down and spread round the TSSC buildings. Those items that were water damaged were away for restoration but the whole collection needed re-sorting and putting back into a sensible order.
With the start of the Project coinciding with that, it enabled a larger group of people efforts to be brought to bear on the task and now the collection has been successfully re-ordered and is in a better state of conservation in general. We have also taken the opportunity to go through the collection in greater detail, weeding out inappropriate items that over the years had inevitably found a home there and also identifying Archive materials that weren’t directly related to the Austin 7 and should be found new homes.
If we think of what we have achieved directly related to the Digital project, we have made remarkable progress. The items that caused greatest angst were the Index Cards and those, along with the Handbooks and Parts Lists have been digitised. We have a complete set of photos of all our Trophies and related materials and we have built a web site and published all those images. We have already started on a project to make the Index Cards easier to research on line and all of that work has been done to a high quality and professional standard. The Team should be rightly proud of what they have created.
Our efforts are also reflected in the fact that a number of other organizations have talked with us about our approach as they embark on Projects of their own. I like to think we have really become a leading light in this area…
We should not forget that very soon, we will also be adding Show Brochures and Paint cards to our digital collection. Overall, that really does reflect an extraordinary level of progress in 12 months, starting from nothing.
I think we should give the team a huge pat on the back for their efforts over the past year and consider what they have achieved. They all have my sincere thanks for the effort they have put into the Project..
Hugh
Location: Cambridge
It's amazing what has been achieved by so few for so many. We are deeply in debt to them all. THANK YOU.
Location: Piddle Valley
The minutes of our latest meeting can be found in the usual place
http://a7ca.org/austin-seven/archives/archive-project/
but keep an eye out for our next big news item in the next few days..
Hugh
Location: Cambridge
Good progress.
However the link for "Technical Drawings" says that the work is yet to be done.
In the meantime before the recent investment there was a DropBox folder with a range of useful drawings. Is it still accessible?
Charles
Charles - yes. If at A7CA.org you follow the links
Austin Seven>Archives>Historic Images>Technical Drawings
you will find them all there. We are already discussing the potential for moving these images in a more 'orderly' fashion to the Archive pages. However, the images may not be of the standard that we are aiming for in the Project, so when we have transferred them, we will go through them one by one and replace them with better quality images where needed. That is something on the plan for early next year once we have completed the current round of work..
hth..
Hugh
Location: Cambridge
They are still in the same place you saw them last Charles, see: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jb4e0eg95m3r8c3/ClW_7ot5rh#/
There are plans to consider redoing these however and if that happens those will be uploaded to the new Archive site.
Thanks chaps.
Will bookmark that until higher resolution stuff is created
C
We have some great news this morning. Just in time for Christmas, we have just released 'live' our next tranche of digitised materials from the Archive. This covers detailed information on Austin paint colours, our collection of show brochures, an interview with Bob Wyatt (in itself, a wonderful thing) and the beginning of our dedicated Stanley Edge collection.
These can all be found at the usual place of http://archive.a7ca.org/
We hope that you find this latest batch of work interesting, entertaining and informative.
We plan to add more material from the Archive in 2017 but are always looking for items the Archive doesn't hold - either by loan or donation. SO if you have anything that you think might be useful, please do get in touch..
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all the Project Team..
Location: Cambridge
