Volunteer Profile 3

Name: Carola

Lives: North Dorset

Why do you volunteer with DAT/DHC? I have always had a passion for history and archaeology. My university degrees and first love was for Near Eastern archaeology. As fate would have it I settled in Dorset, only to discover my own family tree dated back to Bagber in 1587. Dorset is definitely in my DNA – who cannot love this fascinating and beautiful county?

What do you love about archives? Reading, touching and -dare I say it- smelling old documents and photographs takes one immediately back in time and gives a much deeper understanding of history than mere words could ever do. The paper/parchment/vellum, the ink, the handwriting and spelling all evidence the social history of that moment in time. Also I love that, with the exception of legal documents, the preservation of much archival material is so engagingly random. Why has this letter, this photography or this diary been kept and loved so long?

Favourite historical person? This is ever changing and seems to reflect the current DAT/DHC project. At the moment I am fascinated by the life and works Elizabeth Frink. Before the project to acquire the Frink archive I knew very little about the Dame Elizabeth. I had admired her work in Dorchester and Salisbury Cathedral but that was all. The Frink project gave me the opportunity to see all aspects of her work from their original inception through the finished work. And at the DAT fund raising events I was privileged to speak with several of her close friends, they were able to give insights into this amazingly creative and independent artist.