My passion for history always cools at the mention of war, so I must confess that military museums aren’t really my bag.
Despite the efforts of a history teacher, thoughts of cases filled with uniforms, weapons and detailed descriptions of military tactics leave me overwhelmed by a lack of enthusiasm.
However, having read about the newly refurbished Black Watch Museum in Perth I was hopeful that modern approaches to collections display and interpretation might help me to overcome my prejudices.
Before entering the exhibition, a volunteer gave me a brief introduction, explaining that the museum explores the origins and chronology of the Black Watch regiment and its campaigns.
He used a floorplan to show how the visitor route worked and, despite my nervousness at the mention of “campaigns”, I felt confident of what lay ahead and open to learning more.
The first room in the museum contains a screen showing four short presentations on the origins of the regiment, the “red hackle” (its emblem), the Black Watch tartan and the design of the regiment’s badge.
These provide a good overview of the regiment’s origins and distinctive appearance for those with little or no prior knowledge.
The Black Watch, or Am Freiceadan Dubh in Gaelic, began life as six independent companies established to solve the “Highland problem” before becoming a regiment of the British Army. An introductory panel explains these origins in detail.
Although the panel started with a short introductory statement, the length of the main body of the text with its uniform design and font size was off-putting, and I found this to be the case throughout the museum.
I felt that drawing attention to the first paragraph, such as using a larger font, would help to layer the text further and encourage those with little knowledge to engage more.
The museum has 13 separate galleries, each representing a different era of military campaigns involving the Black Watch.
The overall design and presentation of the collections is stunning. I did struggle to engage with the subject matter of the campaigns of the early years and the British Empire.
I was fascinated by some of the personal items on display, such as beautiful silver claret jugs smuggled by a soldier’s wife off the sunken HMS Birkenhead in 1852 and uniform buttons uncovered from the same wreckage.
But overall, I found there was too much to read and the triumphant tone of voice in the text a little wearing in places.
Moving into the first and second world war galleries was a very different experience. The sensitive and appropriate nature of the design added to the poignancy of these areas and allowed the collection to do the talking.
Artefacts have been well chosen to reflect this period of devastation and heavy loss. These include a prayer book laced with bullets, and a kilt worn by Captain WD McL Stewart that is still spattered with mud from the Somme battlefield where he was killed.
Most visitors would struggle not to make a connection when faced with so many objects infused with humanity.
Moving stories
What these galleries have, which was lacking in the previous spaces, are human stories. Excerpts from diaries and letters written in the trenches during the first world war, communicated through a replica trench phone, and filmed interviews with survivors of the second world war accessed by a touchscreen provide a moving and engaging human story.
On entering the second world war gallery, prime minister Neville Chamberlain’s announcement that Britain was at war in 1939 is played through a replica contemporary-style wireless and for a brief moment time stands still.
The years following the second world war are dealt with briefly and I was thankful for this as I had already absorbed a lot and was starting to think about that nice-looking cafe downstairs.
Despite my fatigue, one paragraph of text caught my eye – because it was in bold – explaining that the Black Watch ceased to exist as a separate regiment after 2006 when it became part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The design and presentation of information really does make a difference in identifying key facts.
A series of temporary galleries bring the story of the Black Watch up to date, including (at the time of my visit), exhibitions on a day in the life of the regiment and collections and footage from its recent campaigns in Afghanistan.
Amid the temporary galleries is a memorial room with stained-glass windows and rolls of honour for those soldiers of the Black Watch who have been killed in action.
This space and the display on more recent campaigns are a poignant reminder of the many lives that have been lost in conflcits around the world and the sacrifice that continues to be made by the soldiers of the Black Watch for the protection and freedom of other people.
In general, a little less text and some better layering in terms of design would have heightened my engagement. Arguably, visitors with a specialist interest or a personal connection to the Black Watch will read the text and gain more.
However, thanks to the volunteer’s introduction, the audiovisual presentations, the stunning displays and the moving, human stories presented in the 20th century and temporary galleries, I came away having learned a lot and feeling a deep respect for the many soldiers who have fought and died while serving with the regiment.
I also felt that my prejudice against military museums had been challenged and my interest and knowledge had been heightened. I like to think that my school history teacher would be impressed.
Mary Stones is the interpretation project manager for the National Trust for Scotland
Despite the efforts of a history teacher, thoughts of cases filled with uniforms, weapons and detailed descriptions of military tactics leave me overwhelmed by a lack of enthusiasm.
However, having read about the newly refurbished Black Watch Museum in Perth I was hopeful that modern approaches to collections display and interpretation might help me to overcome my prejudices.
Before entering the exhibition, a volunteer gave me a brief introduction, explaining that the museum explores the origins and chronology of the Black Watch regiment and its campaigns.
He used a floorplan to show how the visitor route worked and, despite my nervousness at the mention of “campaigns”, I felt confident of what lay ahead and open to learning more.
The first room in the museum contains a screen showing four short presentations on the origins of the regiment, the “red hackle” (its emblem), the Black Watch tartan and the design of the regiment’s badge.
These provide a good overview of the regiment’s origins and distinctive appearance for those with little or no prior knowledge.
The Black Watch, or Am Freiceadan Dubh in Gaelic, began life as six independent companies established to solve the “Highland problem” before becoming a regiment of the British Army. An introductory panel explains these origins in detail.
Although the panel started with a short introductory statement, the length of the main body of the text with its uniform design and font size was off-putting, and I found this to be the case throughout the museum.
I felt that drawing attention to the first paragraph, such as using a larger font, would help to layer the text further and encourage those with little knowledge to engage more.
The museum has 13 separate galleries, each representing a different era of military campaigns involving the Black Watch.
The overall design and presentation of the collections is stunning. I did struggle to engage with the subject matter of the campaigns of the early years and the British Empire.
I was fascinated by some of the personal items on display, such as beautiful silver claret jugs smuggled by a soldier’s wife off the sunken HMS Birkenhead in 1852 and uniform buttons uncovered from the same wreckage.
But overall, I found there was too much to read and the triumphant tone of voice in the text a little wearing in places.
Moving into the first and second world war galleries was a very different experience. The sensitive and appropriate nature of the design added to the poignancy of these areas and allowed the collection to do the talking.
Artefacts have been well chosen to reflect this period of devastation and heavy loss. These include a prayer book laced with bullets, and a kilt worn by Captain WD McL Stewart that is still spattered with mud from the Somme battlefield where he was killed.
Most visitors would struggle not to make a connection when faced with so many objects infused with humanity.
Moving stories
What these galleries have, which was lacking in the previous spaces, are human stories. Excerpts from diaries and letters written in the trenches during the first world war, communicated through a replica trench phone, and filmed interviews with survivors of the second world war accessed by a touchscreen provide a moving and engaging human story.
On entering the second world war gallery, prime minister Neville Chamberlain’s announcement that Britain was at war in 1939 is played through a replica contemporary-style wireless and for a brief moment time stands still.
The years following the second world war are dealt with briefly and I was thankful for this as I had already absorbed a lot and was starting to think about that nice-looking cafe downstairs.
Despite my fatigue, one paragraph of text caught my eye – because it was in bold – explaining that the Black Watch ceased to exist as a separate regiment after 2006 when it became part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The design and presentation of information really does make a difference in identifying key facts.
A series of temporary galleries bring the story of the Black Watch up to date, including (at the time of my visit), exhibitions on a day in the life of the regiment and collections and footage from its recent campaigns in Afghanistan.
Amid the temporary galleries is a memorial room with stained-glass windows and rolls of honour for those soldiers of the Black Watch who have been killed in action.
This space and the display on more recent campaigns are a poignant reminder of the many lives that have been lost in conflcits around the world and the sacrifice that continues to be made by the soldiers of the Black Watch for the protection and freedom of other people.
In general, a little less text and some better layering in terms of design would have heightened my engagement. Arguably, visitors with a specialist interest or a personal connection to the Black Watch will read the text and gain more.
However, thanks to the volunteer’s introduction, the audiovisual presentations, the stunning displays and the moving, human stories presented in the 20th century and temporary galleries, I came away having learned a lot and feeling a deep respect for the many soldiers who have fought and died while serving with the regiment.
I also felt that my prejudice against military museums had been challenged and my interest and knowledge had been heightened. I like to think that my school history teacher would be impressed.
Mary Stones is the interpretation project manager for the National Trust for Scotland
Project data
- Cost £1.2m
- Main funders Heritage Lottery Fund; the Black Watch Association; the Gannochy Trust; the Forteviot Charitable Trust; the Eva and Hans K Rausing Trust
- Project director Emma Halford-Forbes
- Project curator Allan Carswell
- Exhibition design Studio MB
- Lighting design Nich Smith
- AV design Freakworks
- Display cases ClickNetherfield