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Research Projects: learn and contribute
To understand and preserve the objects in our collection, we need to uncover the stories of the people who made and used those objects. We engage with community groups, societies, universities and individuals to work on research into aspects of our collections. Our community research projects are open to everyone with a contribution to make or an interest in investigating the past. Scroll down to a project below to learn more...
NESM Oral History Programme
Our Oral History Programme seeks to collect the stories of emergency workers as told in their own words. We want to hear from anyone who has worked or works in the Fire & Rescue, Police, Ambulance and Coastguard Services, or any of the associated rescue services: Lifeboat, Air Ambulance, Mountain, Cave, Lowland and the former Mines Rescue.
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Oral History recordings can be made for preservation in our archive, or with a view to becoming an audio element in future NESM exhibitions. The choice is yours, and we respect the wishes of all participants who trust us with their stories.
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Contributing a story: our friendly team are happy to chat with you about oral history contributions.
Recordings are informal and can be conducted in person at NESM, or via video call. If you are a custodian of a family story- perhaps a wartime story- we would also love to hear from you. Written reminiscences can also be submitted to NESM’s Archive.
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Accessing the oral history archive: researchers are welcome to listen to our oral history recordings. The current collection includes the experiences of wartime ambulance staff and of female firefighters in the UK. (Please note, not all recordings are currently available for public research.)
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For information on contributing an oral history, or accessing the archive, please email research@visitnesm.org.uk
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Project Resources
NESM’s contribution to the Oral History Society’s website is a good place to learn about our project aims.
Introducing Oral History in a developing museum - Oral History Society (ohs.org.uk)
Stars & Shields: Heraldry and Identity in the Emergency Services.
​​From ancient myths and legends to mysterious medieval codes, the badges of the emergency services draw on some fascinating roots. We are working with the White Lion Society (Friends of the College of Arms) and the Heraldry Society to identify the emblems that pop up all over our Collection, and investigate the role of coats of arms and insignia in the occupational identity of the emergency services.
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The art of heraldry - the practice of using coats of arms as emblems - began in the Middle Ages. But our modern emergency services have used heraldic designs to create their ‘logos’ ever since they started professionalising in the early 19th century, and in some cases before. We want to learn more about why various emblems have been used, and the part they play in the visual identity of the emergency services. We hope to create an identification resource to aid our cataloguing process.
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Research themes
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From helmet plates and uniform buttons to vehicles and station flags, heraldic designs have been deployed for centuries as the ‘logos’ of police, fire, ambulance and other life-saving services. This project aims to help NESM catalogue its collections through a volunteer-effort to gather information on the badges and insignia used at different times by different emergency services.
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Themes for research include:
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The NESM Collection: heraldic decorative art and archive. Specific investigation of significant heraldic objects and documents in the NESM Collection.
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History of use: the origins and earliest examples of badges used by the emergency services (including the use of heraldry by pre- municipal services such as insurance fire brigade); military men in early police forces and the growth of insignia; involvement of the College of Arms with municipal emergency services and their national authorities, societies and professional organisations.
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History of design/decorative arts objects: the development of badge designs; heraldry in the context of uniform design and architectural and interior design; art history and the use of myth, legend and folkloric motifs in emergency services heraldry.
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Visual identity: ‘why heraldry?’. What the use of heraldry communicated to the public (legitimacy? Trustworthiness? the State or local government serving its people?) and what it suggested to emergency services workers (heroism and valour- the language of chivalry? Status in society? Discipline associated with the military?)
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Project Resources
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Our ‘Stars & Shields’ blog: this is a good place to learn about the aims of the project.
Discovering the secrets of stars and shields (visitnesm.org.uk)
National Emergency Services Heritage Catalogue
Help create our listing of emergency services and associated organisations.
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This project involves creating an authoritative list of historic and present-day emergency services and associated organisations.
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The 2025 first edition listings will be published on this page soon.
Servant Hall Heroes: Fire and the English Country House
We are working with the historic houses sector to investigate the history of fire prevention in England’s great houses.
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Country House communities have had a huge- but little celebrated- impact on the development of fire services in the UK. NESM’s collection includes several examples of equipment used in stately homes. We want to find out more about the story of the country house fire teams that used this equipment, and how they have impacted the development of England’s fire & rescue services.
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With the help of volunteers and historic house curators and archivists, we are gathering information on their collections, and will soon publish a research guide on this page.
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Research themes
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Research encompasses a range of themes focusing on the period c. 1670 to the present day, including:
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The personal stories of individual ‘servant hall heroes’, those involved in fire prevention in historic houses (reviewing the potential for family history research).
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The development of historic house fire teams and their relationship with professional insurance/municipal fire brigades.
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The role of the aristocracy in the development of firefighting in England.
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Community identity; firefighting as ‘loyalty’ to employer, house and neighbours.
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Firefighting equipment and vehicles used by historic houses through the ages.
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The country house team as a rural fire service (landed estates).
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The architecture of the country house, and its particular challenges for fire prevention.
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Salvage operation planning. (It is interesting to note that historic house fire teams have remained key protectors of property, as were the post-1666 insurance brigades, while municipal ‘fire & rescue’ services shifted more markedly to an emphasis on saving life.)
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Historic major/noteworthy incidents.
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The influence of country house fire prevention planning on professional firefighting.
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The rise of ‘heritage’ and the country house as a visitor attraction in the 20th Century; the impact on firefighting and fire safety.
The project will also provide an opportunity to review archival items relating to the wider history of fire & rescue which may be stored in historic house archives. The owners of these houses were often major collectors who have stored a wealth of objects and archival materials that may pertain to anything from the Great Fire of London, to early firefighting personnel.
Project Resources
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Our ‘Servant Hall Heroes’ blog: this is a good place to learn about the aims of the project.