From my diary

I have now discovered why I was unable to locate the 1969 survey report by Jeff Errington, reporting on the dives to the submerged Roman fort at Felixstowe.  The article from 2000 said that it was at Ipswich Museum.  But an email from one of the article authors, Tom Plunkett, reveals that a mass of files were transferred away in 1999, out of Ipswich Museum and into the Ipswich Record Office.  This included the ‘Parish’ files, referred to in the article.

The Ipswich Museum ‘Parish’ files are or were simply a collection of manilla envelopes, used as a filing system.  There was one envelope for each geographical parish (hence the name).  As stray material appeared, it was filed by location in the appropriate envelope.  The contents of the files were never catalogued.  The Errington report should be in the “Felixstowe” or “Walton” envelopes.

The transfer took place at a time of cutbacks, when the Museum dispensed with the services of an archaeologist, and was undertaken to ensure that the material was not simply thrown away.

This morning I travelled down to Ipswich Record Office, and registered there as a user, not without inexplicable difficulty.  I was advised to write to the archivist, however, Louise Kennedy, which I have done.  No doubt there will be a large box full of this stuff, which I shall have to sort through, but that will be a nice way to spend a few hours.  I do have the time.

One impediment, however, is that I shall be going into hospital on Monday 1st April to have a trivial but annoying problem with my foot surgically attended to.   It’s being done under general anaesthetic, so there is a small risk. The surgeon told me that I will be out of action afterwards for three weeks.  Let us hope that I shall be able to use my PC!