Hamish Henderson Archive

Writing

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

FUNDED

Update at 4pm, Wed 15th June.
"You've already hit your target, why should I give more?", we hear you cry.
Well - we're sorry that we underestimated the amazing strength of feeling for Hamish and his work that is out there. We honestly thought we might struggle a bit to reach the initial £2,000, which was only intended to allow us to take the first step along a longer road, by doing a basic inventory of the papers to help make the case for the bigger campaign of a public body acquiring the papers for the nation. Because we busted through that first target within a matter of days, we have been encouraged to keep going towards that greater goal. So please keep giving until 11th July here and then follow our dedicated website which will be launched in time for the end of the Sponsume campaign at www.hamishhenderson.co.uk (currently redirects to Sponsume).

The Hamish Henderson Archive Trust is looking to raise funds to spend July/August 2011 making an initial inventory of the papers of Hamish Henderson, the Scottish poet, soldier, pacifist, political activist, songwriter and the leading folklorist of his generation.

Recipient of the Somerset Maugham Prize for Literature in 1949, and a songwriter of international standing, his songs have been acknowledged by such figures as Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan and Nelson Mandela.

Hamish was one of the co-founders of the School of Scottish Studies archive at the University of Edinburgh in 1951, which has gone on to record 12,000 hours worth of oral tradition reflecting the lives and cultures of the Scottish people.

Hamish sadly died in 2002, leaving behind a large personal archive of letters, unpublished poems and notebooks from his field collecting. The papers have been valued at almost £100,000, but despite negotiations with a number of public bodies to have them acquired for the nation, they still remain with Hamish's family. As a result, the Hamish Henderson Archive Trust has been formed by a group of friends of the Henderson family to secure the archive's fate and make it publicly accessible.

This initial inventory is a vital first step towards securing funding for both the purchase of the full archive in the near future, working in partnership with a national repository, as well as future research on its contents by academic institutions.

Please help secure the legacy of this important cultural figure whose contribution to Scottish life is long overdue full recognition.

All monies raised over our target will go towards the ongoing work of the Hamish Henderson Archive Trust, helping to achieve our longer term aim of securing the future of the archive.

For more information on the Hamish Henderson Archive Trust, contact hamisharchive@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter @hamisharchive

Video produced by the fabulous Jack Foster

Photo of Dominic Behan by kind permission of Alison Chapman McLean.
Opening photo of Hamish by Jeffrey Craig · Other photos credits: Ian Hamilton Finlay by Robin Gillanders · Jeannie Robertson by Fred Kent/School of Scottish Studies · Hamish in hat, scarf and glasses by Jean Mohr · Older Pete Seeger by Josef Schwarz · Alasdair Gray by Eamonn McCabe · Other photos from School of Scottish Studies/Ian F. MacKenzie/Henderson Archive
Some footage from 'Journey to a Kingdom' by Timothy Neat/Tree of Liberty Films.
This video is unlisted on YouTube and can only be accessed using the direct link to this fundraising page. The Hamish Henderson Archive Trust is a non-profit making organisation.

Gallery:

Thanks for all the support so far folks!

Posted: Wednesday, 8 June, 2011 - 13:34

Well in just 3 hours this morning since we launched, we have raised £150, 8% of our target. Thanks to all of you who have supported us thus far from far and wide (yes we have our first transatlantic supporter!). Please send the links to the campaign around your networks as much as you can, and in an ideal world we can raise even more than the modest target of £2,000 which will help the Hamish Trust continue its work to a successful conclusion.

Ane's the wish yokes us thegither—
Ane's the darg that lies afore.
You an' me: the man, the brither!
Me an' you: the Gillie More.

Wow, what a day!

Posted: Thursday, 9 June, 2011 - 01:32

Well it's 15 hours into the campaign and we're heading to bed - and already, stunningly, we are nearly halfway. We are so grateful to all of you who have contributed thus far. We were a bit cautious in our initial target as we weren't sure how this might go, but I think today is a reflection of the respect and love for Hamish that is out there. We will look at ways of reshaping our pitch in the coming weeks to maximise the income from Sponsume, so that we can move more quickly along the longer road of securing the papers outright. Barely a day down and we are almost halfway. Wow. Just, wow. Keep spreading the word, and tell people to pledge even if we are above our target, as all the money is useful to take the larger project to its conclusion. Here's to Hamish.

Quo Life, the warld is mine,
The flooers and trees, they're aa my ain,
I am the day an the sunshine,
Quo life the warld is mine.

WOW! You are all amazing.

Posted: Friday, 10 June, 2011 - 09:50

Thanks to all 50+ of you who took us over our target in 48 hours, what a stunning start. I am so thrilled!

I spoke to Mrs Henderson this morning and she is overjoyed at the response, and equally as stunned as we are. It is great to be able to share this news with her after so many tricky years of fruitless negotiations. We should've known the best place to start was with the folk community, Hamish's "home"!

As you'll see from the main campaign page, we want to capitalise on this momentum and just keep going until 11th July, to raise as much as we can in the coming month to secure the papers outright. We can take this money to the public bodies as match funding from the folk community and challenge them to find funds from their own resources and channels. It's about time.

So come all ye at hame wi Freedom,
Never heed whit the hoodies croak for doom
In your hoose a' the bairns o Adam
Can find breid, barley-bree and painted room.
When MacLean meets wi’s freens in Springburn
A' the roses and geans will turn tae bloom,
And a black boy frae yont Nyanga
Dings the fell gallows o the burghers doon.

simonthoumire
robbiehthomas
joan.mackenzie
stuart
allanmcmillan
elsa
jsimes
hugh.travelwriter
shian.blackwood
zarya.rathe
tboyle
eh192pf
stan.reeves1
mary.masson
instrumentsofjoy
madeinwood
irenerbrown
roddymacdonald
scottsangsters
catarina_9
tskeoch
info5
moragdempsey
yerocnosbig
caroline.macafee
derek.hoy
dundie
sionnach.airgead
aisypaisy
davie

Comments

simonthoumire 11 months ago

This is amazing Steve. Well done.

aisypaisy 11 months ago

I knew Hamish as a child, and through to adulthood. My father Pete Shepheard, is also a singer, collector and archivist and throughout my childhood my parents, sisters and I spent summers attending festivals and soaking up the oral tradition. Hamish was a huge part of all that for me. He was the only person who pronounced my name properly and I named my son Hamish Haszeldine, partly in memory of this giant man who so impressed me as a child. It makes me smile, contributing to the continuation of the good works the Hamish Henderson Archive Trust are doing. Thanks for the opportunity!
Aislinn Haszeldine.

stevebyrne 11 months ago

Thanks for sharing your memories of Hamish, Aislinn. We are all aware too of the wonderful work of your father, and I've personally had the pleasure of crossing paths with him a few times in recent years and have also been an occasional shopper at Springthyme Records lovely website!

It's been wonderful watching the list of supporters roll in from all over the place, it shows just what an effect Hamish had on people, I'm sure often in the way you've described. Thanks again for your story, and most of all for your support!

Steve

stevebyrne 11 months ago

Yes we're quite pleased! Lots of people in the folk scene knew and loved Hamish though so I guess it's no surprise. Plus we've been sitting on the idea for a while, building up our bases...good to get it out at last. Lots of happy smiles at the Trust today :)

gregory 11 months ago

What a start! :0

Post new comment

This project's deadline has now expired - you can no longer back these rewards

You cannot back this project, funding is now complete.

Acknowledgement on the forthcoming Hamish Henderson Archive Trust website

£5 or more : You will be listed in our supporters section on the Trust's website when it is up and running. (Please note this reward does not include a copy of the journal).

Acknowledgement in the first Hamish Henderson Journal

£10 or more : You will be named as a founding supporter of the Hamish Henderson Archive Trust in the forthcoming new Journal when it is printed in late 2011 / early 2012 once cataloguing is under way. (Please note this reward does not include a copy of the journal).

Copy of the First Edition of the Hamish Henderson Journal

£20 or more : You will receive a copy of the limited First Edition of the new Hamish Henderson Journal, and be named as a supporter therein.

Exclusive Signed Copy of the Journal

£50 or more : You will receive a copy of the Journal signed by Mrs Kätzel Henderson and the Trustees of the Hamish Henderson Archive Trust.

Signed Copy of the Journal, plus a VIP invitation to the launch

£100 or more : When we launch the first issue of the Journal in Edinburgh, you will be our special guest at a pre-launch drinks reception with a chance to meet those involved at the heart of the project, as well as receiving all the benefits listed above. (Travel costs to the launch not included.)

Site visit - personal viewing of some of the materials in the Henderson Archive

£200 or more : For our top line donation, as well as all the benefits above, we would arrange a private viewing with you of a limited selection of the materials in the Henderson Archive during the initial inventory process in July/August 2011, hosted by the Trustees.

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