In 2019 The Hockey Museum (THM) has played a significant part in a collaborative project created by the subject-specialist network Sporting Heritage and the Army Museums Ogilby Trust (AMOT), a charity working to support Army museums in the UK. The project, which is titled Sporting Heritage and the Armed Forces is funded by the Arts Council and runs until April 2020, consists of three separate work strands relating to military sporting collections:
- Have a specialist visit THM to digitise our paper archive and photography materials that have a military focus.
- Have a consultant work with THM on its volunteering programme to:
- Review and improve THM’s volunteer management practices using the new AMOT toolkit, including finalising the Volunteer Handbook, induction procedure, general volunteer HR etc.
- Recruit new volunteers to assist the Curator with his Hockey’s Military Stories research project.
- Funding for THM to partner with military museums to create a touring exhibition on military hockey.
The digitisation work in now complete and the material can now be more easily used and shared by THM. The consultancy work around our volunteering practices is ongoing but close to conclusion and will impact positively on our existing volunteers as well as on any newly enticed volunteers. The campaign for volunteers to assist with Hockey’s Military Stories also continues – email Curator Mike Smith if that piques your interest.
The exhibition is complete and has already been displayed at the GB Pro League matches at Twickenham Stoop and on Remembrance Sunday in THM’s hometown of Woking. Military Hockey: A Force for Good focuses on the long tradition of hockey being played in the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. It delves into the positive aspects of hockey in the Armed Forces such as physical fitness, mental wellbeing and teamwork, and covers centuries of conflict, peacetime pursuits and prominent hockey personnel. The exhibition can be displayed anywhere from museums to hockey club houses. If you are interested in hosting it, please contact us.
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