First World War Tank in Abington Park

First World War Tank in Abington Park

Between 1920 and 1935 Abington Park was home to a First World War tank. It was gifted to Northampton in 1919 in recognition of the money raised by the town for the war savings campaign. Also situated in the park at this time were 2 Boer war field guns, 3 First World War German Field Guns and a ships cannon.

Tanks were offered to 265 towns who had held ‘Tank Weeks’ to raise money for the war savings campaign.

The tank weighed 30 tons and was transported to Northampton’s Castle Station by rail on the 24^th October 1919. The plan was to then drive the tank to Abington Park where there would be a naming ceremony a week later. However, the tank would not start and due to its great weight there was no other way to get it to the park.

The tank eventually arrived on 16^th April 1920. A brass plaque was fixed that read:

‘Presented by the National War Savings Committee to the citizens of Northampton in recognition of the readiness with which they loaned their money to the country in the financial campaign carried out by the local War Savings Committee during the Great War 1914-18’

Abington Park was used numerous times between 1914 and 1918 for fundraising events to support prisoners of war, refugees and soldiers serving overseas. Pictured here an Abington Park Fete programme (1918).

Abington Park Fete Programme

The tank was named Steelback in honour of the Northamptonshire Regiment. It was situated next to the mound near the bandstand and was used mainly as a climbing frame by the local children. The mound is still often referred to as ‘Tanky Hill’.

The tank was a Mark IV ‘male’ tank – the most common First World War tank with over 1000 made. The ‘male’ tanks had a 6 pounder gun where ‘female’ tanks had machine guns. They were very unreliable and many broke down before they reached the front, much like the Abington tank breaking down at the station. These tanks had an 8 man crew. They require four people to drive and four people to operate the weaponry. It would have been very hot and cramped inside with a high risk of carbon monoxide poisoning as exhaust fumes filled the tank.

Mark IV tanks had a top speed of 4mph and a range of 15-20 miles on flat ground but a much shorter distance cross-country.

The Abington Park tank had the number 2324 which makes it one of the 100 male Mark IVs built by William Foster & Co at the Wellington Foundry in Lincoln.

1925 Map of Abington Park showing the Armoured Tank (National Library of Scotland)

1925 Map with Tank

Local Quakers opposed the tank and guns being kept in the park. They submitted a petition to the council to have them removed and the council voted in agreement. Councillor Barratt argued that the presence of the guns and the tank created a ‘war mind’ and were ‘a danger to the moral welfare of our young people and society generally’ (Northampton Mercury, Friday 13 April 1934)

Once it had been decided that the tank and guns would be removed from the park there was great debate over how they should be moved, especially considering the weight of the tank. One suggestion was that the tank should be buried in the park. This gave rise to the myth that the tank is buried under ‘Tanky Hill’. In fact the tank was purchased by a Sheffield-based company for scrap and in February 1935 the tank and the guns were cut up using oxyacetylene cutting torches and removed from the park.

Please visit the Conflict & Community digital archive containing over 300 objects, documents and oral history clips relating to the First World War: www.flickr.com/people/conflict_and_community

 

Embroidered Silk Postcards

Embroidered Silk Postcards

Embroidered silk postcards were popular items for British soldiers to send home during the First World War. These precious and expensive gifts represented skilled local craftsmanship and contained intricate details and were often sent home for a special occasion such as a birthday or Christmas. Designs varied considerably but usually the postcards featured a patriotic or personal theme and contained bright colours.

Embroidered Silk Postcards

Embroidered silk postcards, 1914-1915

Northampton Museum holds a framed example of these postcards. The writing in the frame reads ‘Embroidered silk postcards made in Paris during the 1914-18 war. Presented by Mrs D.H. Simmonds in memory of her husband’. There are three cards in this frame: two silk and one smaller paper card. The first silk postcard includes an embroidered badge of the Northamptonshire Imperial Yeomanry and the second silk card has a Christmas theme with holly and three flags representing the allied powers: Russia, Italy and Great Britain. The smaller paper card reads ‘To bring you Luck’.

Many of these silk postcards were produced by civilians in France and Belgium and the popularity with British soldiers supported the craft industry and the local economy in some of the smaller towns and villages.

Many of the silk designs would have been standardised and drafted by a professional. The wording, like ‘Christmas’, would have been swapped according to the occasion and designed to fit within the pre-made card frames to allow them to be posted. The message would then have been written on the back of the card.

The design would have been transferred to silk organdie and then stitched with silk floss. The technique is called ‘silk shading’ and predominately uses satin stitch and long and short stitch. These items would have been stitched by a competent embroiderer, most likely using a hoop and then sold to soldiers to send home.

In 2018, objects like these and many more will be made available online for you to explore through a First World War digital archive. For more information on the Conflict & Community Project please click here.

Further information:

Imperial War Museum: Embroidered Silk Postcards

Christmas during the First World War

Christmas during the First World War

 As Christmas fast approaches, most of us are contemplating what gifts to buy our friends and family. During the First World War (1914–1918), many families did not have the money or resources to buy extravagant presents. Those that could spare some pennies tended to purchase British made items including toys, perfume, pens and cigars and these were considered a true luxury during a period of food shortages, price hikes and wartime thrift.

Exchanging presents at Christmas was viewed as an important act. Through all the struggles and hardships of war, Christmas time offered a flicker of happiness and a feeling of hope. Not only was this important on the home front but also on the front line where soldiers maintained military operations throughout the winter months. During 1914, at the age of seventeen, Princess Mary supported a public fundraising campaign to send gifts to the soldiers serving overseas. The Princess Mary Gift Fund box was made of brass and contained a variety of items such as tobacco, sugar candy and a Christmas card.

Princess Mary Gift Fund Box, 1914–1915 

Brass tin containing two packets of cigarettes, tobacco, a printed Christmas card and a bullet pencil case.

Many families shopping for soldiers in Britain searched for practical gifts as opposed to seasonal novelty products. Relatives purchased presents that would be useful to the soldiers such as gloves, lighters, razors, watches and wallets. The leather wallet pictured below is an example of one such item:

Leather Wallet, 1917

Brown leather wallet with fabric and buff leather lining presented as a gift by the Northampton Allied War Fund during Christmas 1917.

In 2018, objects like these and many more will be made available online for you to explore through a First World War digital archive. For more information on the Conflict & Community Project please click here.

Further reading:

Imperial War Museum: Princess Mary Gift Fund 1914 Box and Contents

10 ways Christmas was celebrated during the First World War

Constance Howard ‘Northamptonshire Churches and Buildings’

Constance Howard ‘Northamptonshire Churches and Buildings’

Earlier this month some of the Collections team un-rolled one of the famous Constance Howard hangings she designed and made for the museum in 1973. We had to take over a conference room in the Guildhall for an afternoon as it was the only space big enough for the 330cm by 505cm textile.

Constance Howard was part of the vanguard of the modern embroidery renaissance and in her role as Head of Textile and Fashion at Goldsmiths she influenced generations of embroiderers and textile artists. With her iconic green hair Howard pioneered the re-interpretation of traditional embroidery techniques like Gold work and Crewel work using modern materials, including household items like tin foil and milk bottle tops. She was born in Northampton and trained as an illustrator and engraver before setting up the Embroidery depart at Goldsmiths in 1948.

 

 

 

 

 

The hanging depicts buildings around Northamptonshire and celebrates the varied architecture of the county and its role in historical events. The Iron Age Desborough Mirror, now held by the British Museum, has a prominent place as does the Althorp House.

 

This is one of a pair of wall hangings that were commissioned by the Friends of the Northampton Museum, the companion hanging celebrates the Fashion and Footwear history of the town. We are hoping to put both of the hangings on display when the expanded museum re-opens so their condition needs to be assessed to ensure that they won’t be damaged by being on display.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To do this we first unrolled the wall hanging so that we could look at it in detailed looking for any areas of damage where the 45 year old textile that would need to be stabilised by a conservator. The very liner design harks back to her training as an engraver. Although she designed the hanging to be stitched in sections, by herself and a team of embroiderers, the pieces merge together effortlessly.

 

 

 

 

 

It was fascinating to get up close to Howard’s embroidery to see how delicate and detailed her stitches are even on an object designed to be viewed from afar. She used lots of different materials and threads to create a layered effect evoking the textures of the buildings through applique and a variety of different stitches. Though, unfortunately none of her famous milk bottle tops.

 

 

 

 

 

After completing our condition report for both the front and back we re-rolled the hanging so that it could be returned to the museum store until we are ready to prepare it to go on display.

 

 

For more information about Constance Howard http://www.gold.ac.uk/textile-collection/constance/

 

Northampton and the First World War: Tourist Information Centre Display

Northampton and the First World War: Tourist Information Centre Display.

In December 2014, I was tasked with putting together a display to showcase the Conflict and Community Project, a Heritage Lottery Funded initiative that focuses on Northampton and its involvement in the First World War. The display can be found in the Tourist Information Centre at Sessions House, and has been running bimonthly ever since. The display has covered themes like Christmas on the front line and life on the home front, as well as showcasing the lives and achievements of local soldiers through personal artefacts. As Autumn grows nearer, it’s time for the display material to change yet again; for the latest set of objects, selected from the Northampton Regimental Collection, the emphasis has shifted to trench warfare.

Trench warfare is the aspect of WWI we perhaps are the most familiar with. A landscape of horror, constant shelling, and the oft romanticised notion of ‘going over the top’ were the bread and butter of wartime poets like Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. Despite this, only a relatively small proportion of the army actually served in the trenches. Of these soldiers, only around fifteen percent would have been in the firing line at any one time. The British Army regularly rotated troops between the trenches and other stations behind the lines, with the average soldier spending only a few days in the trenches with each rotation. The BBC quote an incredible statistic regarding trench warfare: on average, not including days of exceptional loss (for example, the Battle of the Somme), nine out of ten Tommy soldiers survived the trenches (link here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z3kgjxs#zg2dtfr). Nonetheless, the unpleasant environment of the trenches and the lingering threat of battle and death remained constant for those on the front line.

Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling

Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,

But someone still was yelling out and stumbling

And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—

Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,

As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

– Dulce Et Decorum Est, Wilfred Owen (1920).

All of the items on display throughout September and October represent aspects of trench warfare, each having a unique resonance of an experience so unimaginable that we can hardly begin to picture it.

The first item I chose for the display was a pair of German-made Emil Busch binoculars. These found their way to Northampton in the care of Private William Green – my great-grandfather (you can read my previous blog, telling his incredible story here https://northamptonmuseums.wordpress.com/2015/03/13/tic-display-for-conflict-and-community-project/.The binoculars originally belonged to a German soldier, and were taken as a souvenir of the battles William fought on the Hindenburg Line. During the final assault on the line, William earned a Military Medal for acts of bravery under fire, the highest commendation an Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) could receive. I have often wondered about those binoculars and how they came to William’s hands, the grisly circumstances only too easily imagined.

Also on display is an officer’s Derby boot. This boot was probably made as a government sample, and almost certainly never saw action on the front line. However, millions of similar, locally manufactured boots did. Northampton played an important part in shoeing the soldiers, even making boots for the allies. Approximately two thirds of the seventy million boots produced for the British forces were made in Northampton. The First World War was a lucrative time for boot makers, with business booming and women being employed to help with the workload. Boot makers and repairers were vital on the front line, relied upon to mend soles and keep the soldiers marching.

The display also features a selection of artillery, including shell cases, a grenade, and a 1lb brass shell. The term ‘shell case’ refers to the outer part of an artillery shell, which would have housed the charge and ignition. Shells contained explosives and were fired behind enemy lines. The shells on display were probably never fired, given their excellent condition. Unused shell cases were often transformed into pieces of trench art, referencing theatres of war or locations of battles. Such pieces were usually kept by soldiers as souvenirs and brought home to England. Dramatically smaller in size were the 1lb brass shells, used with early anti-aircraft guns throughout WWI as a part of the home defence. They were nicknamed ‘pom pom’ shells for the sound they made when they discharged. Smaller still, but no less deadly, were the factory-built white phosphorus grenades that were introduced in 1916. Following this, around 250,000 grenades were produced per week. Phosphorus was popular in incendiary munitions as it burns quickly and produces a smoke blanket to offer camouflage.

Finally, the signallers’ whistle is perhaps the most iconic artefact of WWI. One blast would signal the troops’ advance over the top, something featured frequently in films, drama and poetry. It is difficult to imagine waiting to hear the whistle, knowing that it could signal your death.

Choosing and researching the artefacts for display was a privilege. During my second year as an archaeology student, I travelled between WWI battlefields and memorials in western Europe, writing a research project. I was trying to learn about different types of memorials, and how they engaged the public. I personally found that museums were the most effective form of memorialisation. As a young person with no concept of what it truly means to be at war, I found it very difficult to connect with stone monoliths and bronze statues. They did not bring history to life like the museums did, each display showcasing remnants of soldier’s lives. For me, this was far more emotive than standing upon long-healed, empty fields. So, with this display, I have tried to bring memories of WWI to life, so that we may continue to remember it.‘If I should die, think only this of me;

That there’s some corner of a foreign field

That is for ever England.’

– The Soldier, Rupert Brooke (1914)

Name of author: Vikki Green

This article has been written as part of the HLF funded Conflict & Community Project. The project commemorates the contributions of the people of Northampton to World War I. To learn more about the project please visit http://www.northampton.gov.uk/info/200246/events–and–exhibitions/2139/conflict-and-community

Leading the Way: How Northampton Welcomed the Wounded

Leading the Way: How Northampton Welcomed the Wounded.

By Ellen Hackett.

Previously I have written about my upcoming talk on how Northampton cared for injured soldiers returning from the battlefields of World War 1

https://northamptonmuseums.wordpress.com/2015/07/13/leading-the-way-how-northampton-welcomed-the-wounded/

With the talk drawing nearer (22 September at 7pm at the museum) my co-presenter Liam and I have been delving deeper into the stories of local soldiers. There are some fascinating tales of the lives of Northamptonians against the backdrop of world-changing events, and we cannot wait to share these with you.

As a taster of what is to come I thought I would write about how very early on in our research a local person of interest emerged. His father was a former mayor of Northampton and his brother ran a town centre shop which still operates today and is still family run. He was a young man of fighting age but was not an enlisted man, another curiousity. He was very involved in fundraising and was prominent in Northampton General Hospital. Further research revealed that his family was extremely active in the war effort. But they weren’t alone.

You may be itching to hear the name of this person, but we’re keeping this close to our chests at the moment!

From Earls to Alderman and ordinary citizens alike, the town of Northampton reveals the stoicism of its citizens and a determination to win the war and contribute to the war effort. We can all be proud of what our town achieved. The efforts made by people in all walks of life are what won through in the end.

Our talk will demonstrate how Northampton faced the challenge of the War and cared for so many soldiers and will showcase some of the strong individuals whose efforts led to Northampton Leading the Way.

We hope to see you there.

Talk date/time: Tuesday 22 September, 7pm

Venue: Northampton Museum & Art Gallery

Tickets: Just £5, please call 01604 837 397 to book early (and a limited number of tickets will also available on the door)

 

Against the Tide – Northampton Conscientious Objectors in World War One

Against the Tide – Northampton Conscientious Objectors in World War One

Post talk blog by John Buckell

On the evening of the hottest July day on record (1^st July 2015), nine people gathered at the Museum to listen to this talk. They included the granddaughter of a Northampton WW1 conscientious objector, and a Quaker lady from Bournemouth who had grown up in Northampton.

The talk was based on the stories of some of the 60 conscientious objectors (COs) who I have identified in the records of the Northamptonshire Appeals Tribunal. Northamptonshire is one of a very small number of counties that retained these records after the war. I began with an account of the rejection by Northampton Town Council in 1920 of Harold Croft, a nominee for alderman. A majority of councillors refused to accept a man who had been imprisoned as a conscientious objector during the recent war. The background to conscientious objection was then explained – the introduction of conscription in 1916, the insertion of a conscience clause in the legislation and the setting up of local and county tribunals to judge claims for exemption from military service.

Stories of individual COs were used to illustrate their varying religious, moral and political beliefs, as well as different outcomes to their appeals –non-combatant service, alternative “work of national importance,” or dismissal, sometimes leading to prison and the Home Office Scheme. Evidence from a Northampton man’s diary showed what happened to COs who refused to obey orders when conscripted into the army.

Albert Burrows

 

George Nutt

Conscientious objectors who became mayors of Northampton – left, Albert Burrows (1935); right, George Nutt (1959). Northampton Independent Northampton Central Library, courtesy of Northamptonshire Newspapers

Instances of public hostility to COs were given, but also evidence of a local support network – the No Conscription Fellowship, the Quakers and individuals prepared to testify to a man’s genuine conscientious objection to military service. A number of women also gave active moral support, including attendance at courts martial.

The talk concluded with an outline of the future careers of some Northampton COs.

Several questions arose from the talk. How, for example, did tribunals judge the sincerity (or otherwise) of men claiming conscientious objection? Some men were working on military orders for boots, others withdrew appeals and a small number had earlier attested their willingness to serve. These were a minority, however, and it took a strong commitment to principle to face a public tribunal, and possibly the ostracism of neighbours and workmates.

Did the numbers of skilled workers in the boot factories, essential for army boots, result in fewer men being conscripted in Northampton than elsewhere in the country? It is impossible to answer this without comparative figures, but of course many other towns also had their own essential industries. Being a key worker in one of these was certainly firm grounds for exemption, unless substitutes could be trained. Conscience cases were only a small proportion of total exemptions.

Another query concerned the Friends Ambulance Unit (FAU), a Quaker founded body which tended the wounded at the front, in parallel with the official Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC). At least one Northampton CO served in the FAU, but it was oversubscribed and difficult to get into. A small number of Northampton COs did alternative medical work at home with the VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) of St. John Ambulance Brigade and Red Cross. Others refused even hospital work, on the grounds that it would release another man to fight and kill.

Once again, I am grateful to everyone who attended my talk, especially on such a fine evening, and for the interesting questions raised and answers suggested. Thanks are also due to the family of Wilfrid, William and Wesley Church for permission to use photographs and diary extracts.

 

The War Memorials of Northampton Town

The War Memorials of Northampton Town

Reflections of the talk by Angela Malin

I think everyone who attended, enjoyed the talk on the War Memorials and Rolls of Honour that can be found around the town.  Some are obvious such as the Cenotaph in All Saints’ churchyard but did you know that the side chapel at All Saints was also built as a memorial to those who served and died?

It was interesting to see in the newspapers that once the idea for a memorial was proposed, various architects came up with some rather grandiose schemes.. One even looked like the Admiralty Arch in the Mall in London, others involved the demolition of the top of Guildhall Road and part of St Giles Square!   I was also amazed at how quickly the funds within each church or parish were raised to pay for these memorials, especially as many of the veterans found it hard to regain employment after the war.

Abington Square War Memorial

On a reflective note, it is humbling to see that all the memorials are well cared for and that 100 years on, the men who gave their lives for our freedom have not been forgotten: we have and will continue to remember them

Leading the Way: How Northampton Welcomed the Wounded.

Leading the Way:  How Northampton Welcomed the Wounded.

In 1914, the nation went to war.  In the fervour that followed the despatch of the British Expeditionary Force, young men signed up in their droves.  For many it was a jolly jape.  Most believed it would be over by Christmas.  Few gave thought to what laid ahead of them, whilst back at home, the authorities had to make plans to care for the wounded who would be sent back to Britain away from the theatre of war.  The Great War was the first war of its kind.  No one had any concept of the impact of this type of fighting or how many casualties would result from such a war.

Plans were being put in place, setting aside beds for the wounded heroes.  How many beds would they need?  How long would they be needed for?  Who was going to pay for it?  How much would it cost?  What would happen to the soldiers when their medical needs had been met?  What would be the psychological impact?  What happens next?

At the start of the war, these were among the questions that needed answers.  What wasn’t foreseen was the sheer volume of wounded that would require care.

As part of the Community and Conflict Project, it was decided that some research needed to be done into how the wounded soldiers of the Great War were cared for in the county of Northamptonshire.  The research revealed who was responsible for the care and how this was paid for, and who was responsible for the coordination of funding and care.  The research shows the complexities of such an operation and the logistical difficulties of the task ahead.

Wounded Soldiers

Come along to our Museum talk on Tuesday 22 September 2015 at 7pm to explore how Northampton and the county rose to the occasion, who was involved, and endeavours to show that Northampton did indeed, lead the way.

All talks £5, ring 01604 837397 to book. Tickets also available on the door.

The Finds of Roman Northamptonshire

A review of ‘The Finds of Roman Northamptonshire’. A talk by Julie Cassidy, Finds Liaison Officer for Northamptonshire

By Louise Hannam

Thursday 14^th May 7.30pm

Coming from an Archaeology/ Egyptology background and holding an interest in local history, I was especially looking forward to attending ‘The Finds of Northamptonshire’ talk held at Northampton Museum and Art Gallery. As I had discovered a further understanding of Northampton history whilst working at the museum, I felt that this was not an evening to be missed. I was proved right, as Julie Cassidy did not disappoint!

The talk began by explaining the Portable Antiquities Scheme, and the distribution of Roman finds throughout Northamptonshire. Important Roman towns were established throughout the county such as Towcester, Kettering, Duston and Irchester. Roman villas in Northamptonshire included Brackley, in which a villa and bath house were situated.

Map of Northamptonshire

Image reproduced from ‘The Archaeology of Northamptonshire’ (2004) Northamptonshire Archaeology Society. Edited by Martin Tingle.

The mention of the bath house particularly interested me as I had previously excavated a Roman Bath house with the University of Sussex in Barcombe, East Sussex.  This experience thus enabled me to identify with the finds that Julie continued to show throughout the evening.

It was exciting to see an abundance of high quality, well preserved objects from this era, deriving from another county that I was now living in. It really brought home how this culture had spread, not only from Rome and across Europe, but across the country, as parallel objects and sites were to be found in the Midlands, as well as London and Southern England, of which I was already familiar with.

There were various finds that particularly stood out to me; the first was the head from a statue of Marcus Aurelius with pointed beard and intact glass eyes. It was found at Brackley and had since resided on a farmer’s mantel piece until being identified as an authentic Roman find.  Few Roman statues maintain their original glass eyes due to their value, so it is not surprising that the find is now on display in the Ashmolean Museum.

Statue Head of Marcus Aurelius

Portable Antiquities Scheme (BERK-E24C84)

The second object that I found extremely intriguing was the frog lamp fitting found in Wilby, near Wellingborough. The find consisted of a metal frog with a lion’s head attached but its use was unknown. Once the object was researched however, a parallel was found. This was a lamp from Pompeii dating to 79 CE, now displayed in Kelsey Museum of Archaeology in the University of Michigan.  The parallel revealed that the Wilby frog was also originally from a high status lamp, and not locally made, meaning it was a Roman object imported to Britain. This therefore demonstrates the importance of discovering such finds, as they can widen our understanding about the history of our local area.

Frog lamp fitting found Wliby

Portable Antiquities Scheme(NARC-81E575)                

The final finds that should be mentioned, were the references to a ‘raven’ or ‘eagle’.  These were in the form of a bronze figure of a bird (use unknown), and a finger ring with a carved depiction of a bird and man running away from it. Although there is evidence to suggest that representations of eagles and ravens were present in the Roman British era (Durhama & Fulford 2013) (Serjeantson and Morris 2011), I couldn’t help thinking that the bird in fact represented a falcon, or a form of Horus; the ancient Egyptian god of kingship.

Bronze Figure of a Bird

Portable Antiquities Scheme (NARC-BE3893)

Finger Ring

Portable Antiquities Scheme (BUC-2D8DA5)

It was not uncommon for Egyptian Gods to be assimilated into Roman religion. The cult of Isis for example, spread through the Roman Empire and was worshipped at various sites within the Romano-British era. Horus was therefore incorporated into the Roman British religion in the form of Harpocrates; a human version of the deity (Potter 1997) also known as the god of silence (Aldhouse-Green 1983, 25).  However obscurer versions of the god were also portrayed within this era, such as the falcon form. An example of this was demonstrated by a figurine at Farley Heath in Surrey (Aldhouse-Green 1983, 26). Therefore, this could suggest that the bird representations on the finds shown by Julie were a form of Horus or Harpocrates, but further research would need to be undertaken in order to confirm this.

This entry is just an example of what can be taken away from archaeological finds that Julie comes across on a daily basis as Finds Liaison Officer. It must be a truly enthralling career to have, and this was certainly reflected by Julie’s enthusiastic manner throughout the talk. I thoroughly recommend attending similar talks in the future and I will be looking to become more involved within the Portable Antiquities Scheme myself, whether it be through volunteering to record finds or assist with the talks.

To find out more about the Portable Antiquities Scheme in Northamptonshire, visit www.finds.org.uk or email Julie Cassidy directly on: FLO@northamptonshire.gov.uk

Bibliography

Aldhouse-Green, M.J. 1983. The Gods of Roman Britain. Osprey Publishing.

Durhama, E.and Fulford, M. 2013, ‘Symbols of Power: The Silchester Bronze Eagle and Eagles in Roman Britain’, Archaeological Journal 170, (1) ,pp 78-105.

Potter, T.W. 1997. Roman Britain. 2^nd Edition. London: British Museum Press.

Serjeantson, D. and Morris, J. 2011, ‘Ravens and crows in Iron Age and Roman Britain’, Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 30, (1), pp 85-107.