Each year, the Royal Berkshire Archives offers work experience placements to further education students. In this blog, Harrison shares what he got up to during his week with the team: 

“For my work experience I contacted the Royal Berkshire Archives and I got a quick response, followed by an invitation to an interview and tour of the archives. The interview was conversational and friendly and the tour was especially interesting! My visit happened to align with the 75th anniversary celebrations and consequently I saw some items chosen by each staff member.

For my main project that I worked on intermittently, I was indexing a volume from the late 1700s which recorded the minutes for the “Reading Evangelical Society” - I recorded the data in an Excel document. It was fascinating to be able to read and engage with a book from the 1700s (something I didn’t think I would be doing) and being able to structure that through the indexing project. Being able to see into the lives of these godly men and their congregations was really interesting. Figures like Rev. Archibald Douglas who, after consulting local Reading newspapers, I found to be a respected man years after his death.

The image above is of D_N11_13_1_1: Every meeting of the Reading Evangelical Society was meticulously recorded. With who led and ended prayer being a note the secretary always made for each session.

In addition to seeing into the lives of historical people through reading this tome I was also tasked with ordering different leaflets which all dated from the 1940s-50s. Through this task I learned the importance of concentration, having to focus on each document to work out the date which I found to be rather rewarding but also a test of patience. Being able to see into the lives of people who thought and experienced in much the same way we do was satisfying to say the least.

The image above is of D_EX930_1_1: The leaflets and certificates I had to sort were often comedic in nature giving glimpses into post-war British life.

The image above is from D_EX930_1_11: Head Masters editorial states "Try more poems too! We know that some of those in this issue are not quite Shakespearian in standard, but it is the effort that counts"."

Harrison carried out these individual projects around shadowing the team in the public searchroom and taking part in a session with the Conservator on how to preserve and repair documents. He gained an insight into the different roles and responsibilities at the RBA and how staff work together to meet service goals.

If you are interested in volunteering at the Royal Berkshire Archives for work experience placements or other volunteering opportunities, please see our Volunteer webpage and contact us.