1. Existing collections, including the subjects or themes for collecting
The collection comprises records generated by and artefacts acquired by the Society from its formation (as the British National Society for Sick and Wounded in War) in 1870 to the present day. A few items relating to the Crimea 1854-1856 and the foundation of the International Red Cross 1859-1864 date from the period before 1870 and serve to set the collection in context.
A large amount of the collection has been, and is still, acquired through donation by individual members of the public, usually with some personal or family connection with the British Red Cross or those who have received assistance from the Red Cross movement. Purchases of particularly relevant items have been sanctioned on rare occasions. A very small proportion of the collection (no more than one per cent) is held on loan.
The board of trustees of the British Red Cross Society, as the governing body of the museum and archives, will be guided by the Museums Association Code of Ethics for Museums (2002), the Code of Practice on Archives for Museums and Galleries in the United Kingdom (3rd ed., 2002) and the Society of Archivists Code of Conduct (1994). The museum and archives also works towards achieving the standards outlined in The National Archives Standard for Record Repositories (2004).
The museum collection contains artefacts within the following subject areas:
- uniform
- medals and badges
- first aid and nursing equipment
- items connected with those who received aid or help from the British Red Cross, such as prisoners of war
- items connected with the provision of international aid to the victims of war and natural disasters
- fundraising and communications material.
In addition, the British Red Cross museum and archives is also the national repository for records relating to the history of the British Red Cross. As such the archive collection contains the following:
- records produced by the Society’s central UK Office
- records produced by the Society’s Territories, Areas and Branches
- records of those who served with or received assistance from the Society
- records of organisations with which the Society has significant organisational connections.
The majority of records are acquired through internal transfer or donation. However, where an organisation is unable to dispose of its records (e.g. a charity which is still operational) or where the records are of exceptional significance to the museum and archives, a long term deposit will be considered in line with the Guiding Principles for Terms of Deposit (1997) (approved by the Society of Archivists, the National Council on Archives and the Business Archive Council) on a case by case basis.
2. Criteria governing future collecting policy, including the subjects or themes for collecting
The primary object of the British Red Cross museum and archives is to collect, record, research and make available to the public, material relating to the history of the British Red Cross Society as part of the Red Cross Movement in order that an accurate and comprehensive history of the British Red Cross is maintained.
The museum and archives will take due account of the collecting policies of other museums and archives collecting in the same or related areas or subject fields and will consult with such organisations where conflicts of interest may arise or to define areas of specialisms, in order to avoid unnecessary duplication and waste of resources.
The museum and archives recognises its responsibility, in acquiring material, to ensure adequate conservation, documentation and proper use of such material and takes into account limitations on collecting imposed by such factors as inadequate staffing, storage and conservation resources.
The acquisitions policy will be published and reviewed regularly, at least once every five years. The date when the policy is next due for review is noted above. Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, London (MLA London) will be notified of any changes to the acquisition and disposal policy, and the implications of any such changes for the future of existing collections.
Acquisitions outside the current stated policy will only be made in exceptional circumstances and only after proper consideration by the board of trustees of the British Red Cross Society as the governing body, having regard to the interests of other museums and archives.
3. Period of time and/or geographical area to which collecting relates
The museum and archives will collect material relating to the operation of the Society in 1870 to the present day. It will also obtain material relating to the foundation of the Society from before 1870 as appropriate.
The geographical area of collecting is dictated by the realm in which the British Red Cross operates, and as such has an international scope.
4. Limitations on collecting
The museum recognises its responsibility, in acquiring additions to its collections, to ensure that care of collections, documentation arrangements and use of collections will meet the requirements of the Accreditation Standard. It will take into account limitations on collecting imposed by such factors as inadequate staffing, storage and care of collection arrangements.
5. Collecting policies of other museums
The museum will take account of the collecting policies of other museums and other organisations collecting in the same or related areas or subject fields. It will consult with these organisations where conflicts of interest may arise or to define areas of specialisms, in order to avoid unnecessary duplication and waste of resources.
Specific reference is made to the following museum(s): The Balfour Museum of Hampshire Red Cross History
6. Policy review procedure
The acquisition and disposal policy will be published and reviewed from time to time, at least once every five years. The date when the policy is next due for review is noted above.
The Regional Agency will be notified of any changes to the acquisition and disposal policy, and the implications of any such changes for the future of existing collections.
7. Acquisitions not covered by the policy
Acquisitions outside the current stated policy will only be made in very exceptional circumstances, and then only after proper consideration by the governing body of the museum itself, having regard to the interests of other museums.
8. Acquisition procedures
a. The museum will exercise due diligence and make every effort not to acquire, whether by purchase, gift, bequest or exchange, any object or specimen unless the governing body or responsible officer is satisfied that the museum can acquire a valid title to the item in question.
b. In particular, the museum will not acquire any object or specimen unless it is satisfied that the object or specimen has not been acquired in, or exported from, its country of origin (or any intermediate country in which it may have been legally owned) in violation of that country’s laws. (For the purposes of this paragraph `country of origin’ includes the United Kingdom).
c. In accordance with the provisions of the UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, which the UK ratified with effect from 1 November 2002, and the Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003, the museum will reject any items that have been illicitly traded. The governing body will be guided by the national guidance on the responsible acquisition of cultural property issued by DCMS in 2005.
d. The museum will not acquire any biological or geological material.
e. The museum will not acquire any archaeological material.
f. Any exceptions to the above clauses 8a, 8b, 8c, or 8e will only be because the museum is either:
- acting as an externally approved repository of last resort for material of local (UK) origin; or
- acquiring an item of minor importance that lacks secure ownership history but in the best judgement of experts in the field concerned has not been illicitly traded; or
- acting with the permission of authorities with the requisite jurisdiction in the country of origin; or
- in possession of reliable documentary evidence that the item was exported from its country of origin before 1970.
In these cases the museum will be open and transparent in the way it makes decisions and will act only with the express consent of an appropriate outside authority.
9. Spoliation
The museum will use the statement of principles ‘Spoliation of Works of Art during the Nazi, Holocaust and World War II period’, issued for non-national museums in 1999 by the Museums and Galleries Commission.
10. Repatriation and Restitution
The museum’s governing body, acting on the advice of the museum’s professional staff, may take a decision to return human remains, objects or specimens to a country or people of origin. The museum will take such decisions on a case by case basis, within its legal position and taking into account all ethical implications.
11. Management of archives
As the museum holds archives, including photographs and printed ephemera, its governing body will be guided by the Code of Practice on Archives for Museums and Galleries in the United Kingdom (3rd ed., 2002) and the Society of Archivists Code of Conduct (1994).
12. Disposal procedures
a. By definition, the museum has a long-term purpose and should possess (or intend to acquire) permanent collections in relation to its stated objectives. The governing body accepts the principle that, except for sound curatorial reasons, there is a strong presumption against the disposal of any items in the museum’s collection.
b. The museum will establish that it is legally free to dispose of an item. Any decision to dispose of material from the collections will be taken only after due consideration.
c. When disposal of a museum object is being considered, the museum will establish if it was acquired with the aid of an external funding organisation. In such cases, any conditions attached to the original grant will be followed. This may include repayment of the original grant.
d. Decisions to dispose of items will not be made with the principal aim of generating funds.
e. Any monies received by the museum governing body from the disposal of items will be applied for the benefit of the collections. This normally means the purchase of further acquisitions but in exceptional cases improvements relating to the care of collections may be justifiable. Advice on these cases will be sought from MLA.
f. A decision to dispose of a specimen or object, whether by gift, exchange, sale or destruction (in the case of an item too badly damaged or deteriorated to be of any use for the purposes of the collections), will be the responsibility of the governing body of the 6 museum acting on the advice of professional curatorial staff, and not of the curator of the collection acting alone.
g. Once a decision to dispose of material in the collection has been taken, priority will be given to retaining it within the public domain, unless it is to be destroyed. It will therefore be offered in the first instance, by gift, exchange or sale, directly to other accredited museums likely to be interested in its acquisition.
h. If the material is not acquired by any accredited museums to which it was offered directly, then the museum community at large will be advised of the intention to dispose of the material, normally through an announcement in the Museums Association’s Museums Journal, and in other professional journals where appropriate.
i. The announcement will indicate the number and nature of specimens or objects involved, and the basis on which the material will be transferred to another institution. Preference will be given to expressions of interest from other accredited museums. A period of at least two months will be allowed for an interest in acquiring the material to be expressed. At the end of this period, if no expressions of interest have been received, the museum may consider disposing of the material to other interested individuals and organisations.
j. Full records will be kept of all decisions on disposals and the items involved and proper arrangements made for the preservation and/or transfer, as appropriate, of the documentation relating to the items concerned, including photographic records where practicable in accordance with SPECTRUM Procedure on deaccession and disposal.