University news

The University of Glasgow is holding a special Remembrance Day Service in the University Chapel on Wednesday 11 November at 10.45am to which all members of the local community are invited. 

The service will be led by the University Chaplain Rev Stuart MacQuarrie and the Principal,
Professor Anton Muscatelli and children from local schools will also be participating.  The Service was streamed live from the University Chapel Live website.

The service has been arranged  by the members of The Glasgow West War Story Project, which over  the last year has been creating suitable resources to inspire greater learning and understanding of World War 2.  The project  developed and delivered by the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery and University Archives and  funded by Museums Galleries Scotland, worked with local secondary schools to collect the oral histories of people who lived through WW2 and have a connection to the west of Glasgow or the University.

An exhibition highlighting the history of the Memorial Chapel University which opened 80 years ago as a  memorial to the 1,187 men and women from the University who died during both world wars and whose names are inscribed on the Chapel walls opens after the service.  This new exhibition in the Chapel depicting its history, life on campus during WW2,  and showcasing some of the work the pupils from Hillhead Secondary, Hyndland Secondary, Notre Dame School for Girls, and Hutchesons' Grammar produced will be on display from 11 November until 7 December.

University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel Exhibition, 11 November – 7 December 2009

History of the Chapel

Six posters depict the history of the University of Glasgow’s Memorial Chapel.  The subjects of the individual posters are:

• The Chapel Building, exploring its history and architecture;
• Chapel Music, which details the history of the Chapel Choir, the organ, and the Chapel Bell;
• Chapel Worship, which recalls the history of the University Chaplains and the changing nature of worship at the university;
• Chapel Windows, which notes the artists and describes the designs of the various stained glass windows;
• Chapel decoration, which examines the carvings and internal decoration of the Chapel; and
• Roll of Honour, recording how the University of Glasgow memorialised those of the university’s community who fell in WW1 and WW2.

Documenting the University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel

This exhibition presents a variety of images including photographs, taken primarily by University photographers, architectural plans and a copy of a watercolour by Robert Eadie, R.S.W. (1877-1954), which together document the Memorial Chapel’s 80 year history, recording its endurance as a lasting memorial. 

Life on Campus during WW2

Records selected from the University of Glasgow Archives are displayed to reveal some of the experiences of teaching and studying at the university during WW2.

Roll of Honour

Five certificates are displayed to remember five individuals from the University of Glasgow’s WW2 Roll of Honour.   Together they represent the three different armed forces, civilian casualties of the conflict, and the war work of Chaplains. 

At the Remembrance Service on 8 November 2009 four additional certificates were displayed on the Communion Table, remembering four individuals from the University’s Roll of Honour that had been killed on that day in 1940, 1941, 1943, and 1944.

Glasgow West War Story Video

As part of their participation in the national "Their Past Your Future" project, the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery and University of Glasgow Archives Services worked with local secondary schools to collect the oral histories of people who lived through WW2 and have a connection to the west of Glasgow or the University.

Pupils from Hillhead Secondary, Hyndland Secondary, Notre Dame School for Girls, and Hutchesons' Grammar, researched, documented and edited these oral histories.  Their work has contributed to the Glasgow West War Story in the forthcoming “Their Past Your Future” website.  The students interviewed doctors who where at D-Day, Burma and under siege at Anzio, and collected the stories of evacuees, conscientious objectors and Royal Navy personnel who visited Hiroshima in 1947, plus many more fascinating memories.

As part of the exhibition in the University Chapel we will be showcasing some of the work the pupils produced; it will include clips of how they developed their work and the completed interviews.

For further details about the service  please contact Reverend Stuart D MacQuarrie JP BD BSc MBA
telephone: 0141 330 4160
e-mail: s.macquarrie@admin.gla.ac.uk

For further details about the Exhibition please contact Lesley Richmond, University Archivist
telephone 0142 330 2089
e-mail: l.richmond@archives.gla.ac.uk
or
Monica Callaghan, Head of Education Services, Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery
Telephone 0141 330 2838
e-mail m.callaghan@museum.gla.ac.uk

For further details about Their Past Your Future please contact Kate Carrick-Buchanan, Museums Galleries Scotland
telephone 0131 557 0585
e-mail kate@absolutepr.com

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First published: 9 November 2009