Enhancing Museum Stories
Museum staff recently recorded an interview with explorer and author Robin Hanbury-Tenison OE. Since 2013, Eton’s Natural History Museum has displayed a collection of material that Hanbury-Tenison was given during his expeditions around the world. When the Royal Geographical Society hosted an anniversary meeting of members of the Mulu (Sarawak) expedition of 1977-78, led by him, we had the pleasure of hearing also from Noh, a Penan man, son of Nyapun Jeluman, who befriended Robin in 1977 and introduced him to his family and his way of life. The interview was conducted with an interpreter, and at a later date will be available for visitors to watch in the museum.
French Connections
Two Eton boys studying French led a tour earlier this month for 43 visiting French schoolchildren in the equivalent of Year 7. The Etonians gave them a French language introduction to objects ranging in date from the 15th to the 20th centuries, all with a French connection. Among these were the grant of arms by Henry VI to the College to explain why there is a fleur-de-lis, one of the earliest French grammars printed at Eton for the use of boys, examples of trials papers and sent-ups in French, and a letter from an Eton boy to his mother discussing the French Revolution.
Riots in the Archives
A group of Eton boys taking an Optional course on crime and punishment were shown archival records on the boy-led riots at Eton in the late 18th and 19th centuries. On display were first-hand reports about the events, the book recording the expulsion of seven boys, and printed pamphlets inciting action. An article on these periods of unrest appeared in the Journal of Summer 2020 Eton Collections Journal Summer 2020.
