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Why you should not donate your family (or other) items to museums

Article about: What complete and utter wankers are the staff at this museum - Combined Military Services Museum - and in particular Dr Richard Wooldridge. This woman donated her family medals with the prov

  1. #1

    Default Why you should not donate your family (or other) items to museums

    What complete and utter wankers are the staff at this museum - Combined Military Services Museum - and in particular Dr Richard Wooldridge.

    This woman donated her family medals with the proviso they were never sold, so the museum sold them.

    Woman donates father's WWII medals to museum which sells them on Ebay for

    Christine Hinde was proud of her father Albert's service to his country during World War II when he served in the 49th Infantry, nicknamed the Polar Bears.

    After his death she wanted his four service medals to go on display and gave them to the Combined Military Services Museum in Maldon, Essex.

    She specifically told the museum the medals could not be sold.

    But she was appalled months later when she received a call from a collector who told her he'd snapped up the set for just £32 on the online marketplace.

    Nick Forder, 52, bought them in a bid to reunite his own family with what he thought were his relative's long-lost war medals.

    Mrs Hinde said: "He had bought everything, apart from the badge and a piece of ribbon, on eBay for £32.

    "Naturally, I was up in arms because the whole reason that I took them to a museum was so they weren't sold.

    "For them to be sold on eBay for £32 is an insult. The museum has got a code of practice award up on the wall, which they clearly don't stick to."

    The grandmother-of-five had been told by the museum the medals would either be put on display or put into the artefacts.

    She later found out the items were passed on to a trader by the museum before being flogged at a discount price, which she would never have known about if not for Mr Forder.

    He has offered to return the medals free of charge and plans to meet her later this month.

    Museum's founder Richard Wooldridge has sent the 66-year-old a letter of apology and free tickets but she said: "I felt like tearing them up and sending them back."

    Mr Forder of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, works in a museum himself, started collecting medals around 25 years ago.

    He said the museum should have tried to return them to Mrs Hinde or offer them to an alternative museum, rather than passing them on to a trader to sell.

    He said: "I was almost embarrassed to tell Christine how much I paid for them.

    "I was very surprised and if they'd been my dad's medals, I would have felt very put out. It just seems to be a great pity that this happened.

    "While they are relatively common medals, they were Christine's dad's, which makes them irreplaceable and beyond value.

    "I buy medals because I'm interested in the stories behind them and these have turned out to have produced more entertainment, for want of a better word, than I had expected."

    The medals are general medals which all soldiers would have received for their time in WWII.

    A member of museum staff said staff and volunteers are not to blame for the incident and trustees make all the decisions.

    She said: "The staff and volunteers do not make decisions on the museum's collection policy regarding what acquisitions come into the collection."

    "Nor do they make decisions on the museum's disposal policy.

    "All decisions regarding the museum's collection are made by the museum's trustees."
    Regards,

    Jerry

    Whatever its just an opinion.

  2. #2

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    I read that article in disgust. So typical of museums they keep everything in hiding and sell the so called non essential items. Always look for a collector they will appreciate it.

  3. #3
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    Disgraceful but well done Mr Forder for giving them back to Her .

  4. #4

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    Instead, I highly recommend sending your unwanted items into the care of :
    H.Glenn McDonald
    94 Bay St. Apt.308
    Seattle, WA 98121
    USA

    cheers, Glenn

  5. #5

    Default That's just not cricket!!!

    Wow, thats a real nasty thing to do. I own a small museum here in Jersey, (The Channel Islands Military Museum in St.Ouen). I have been collecting for 44 years and in that time I have been given many items, some really nice and others just plain ordinary. My rule is, if I have been given it then what ever it is I am honour bound to keep it. If I buy items from people then I believe I am free to keep or dispose of as I wish. Unfortunately having the collecting disease/obsession I tend to keep a lot more of what I buy than I let go thats for sure. I am not part of any museums association or the like but I just don't think its right to let people donate items and then cash in on them if you don't want or need them. It would be far better to politely let the person wanting too donate the items that you already had examples held in reserve, so perhaps another museum which may have needed the item got it instead.
    Just my thoughts on the matter.
    All the best from Jersey,
    D

  6. #6

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    Quote by bigmacglenn1966 View Post
    Instead, I recommend sending your unwanted items to:
    H.Glenn McDonald
    94 Bay St. Apt.308
    Seattle, WA 98121
    USA

    cheers, Glenn
    sounds like a good idea,they will be well looked after

  7. #7

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    Quote by JERSEY 34 View Post
    Wow, thats a real nasty thing to do. I own a small museum here in Jersey, (The Channel Islands Military Museum in St.Ouen). I have been collecting for 44 years and in that time I have been given many items, some really nice and others just plain ordinary. My rule is, if I have been given it then what ever it is I am honour bound to keep it. If I buy items from people then I believe I am free to keep or dispose of as I wish. Unfortunately having the collecting disease/obsession I tend to keep a lot more of what I buy than I let go thats for sure. I am not part of any museums association or the like but I just don't think its right to let people donate items and then cash in on them if you don't want or need them. It would be far better to politely let the person wanting too donate the items that you already had examples held in reserve, so perhaps another museum which may have needed the item got it instead.
    Just my thoughts on the matter.
    All the best from Jersey,
    D
    seems like a much fairer option.

    why take it if them are only going to sell it

  8. #8

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    The thing is, if this has happened with this museum then the chances are it happens at others which have escaped the attention. What's to say an item donated to the Imperial War Museum today isn't sold by them in 20 years time? And what happens if a museum goes out of business - what happens to their items?

    Doesn't excuse what has happened but it isn't the first time I have heard about this happening either.

  9. #9

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    The Imperial War museum is one whom I would not expect to act in this manner, but even the biggest museums do sell items from their collections, so be warned. A large national museum such as the IWM should be safe, but any smaller local museum especially one set up by an individual really needs to be treated with caution. There is a private museum near me and the people running it are friends, but if the shit hit the fan I am sure they would have to sell their displays, which is why I have never donated any items to them, but have instead sold to them for a mates rate.
    Regards,

    Jerry

    Whatever its just an opinion.

  10. #10

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    Back in the 1980's, I donated a fairly large collection of terrorist-related material from my time in Northern Ireland, to the Cheshire Regiment museum in Chester. It has never ever been put on display. And I have no idea what became of it all.

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