Behind the scenes at the archives: transcribing the diary of former student William Holmes, 1892-3

By Raluca-Maria Corcea, 2nd year English Literature student at York St John

As part of the Literature at Work module I undertook this year, I had to arrange a work-related experience. I was offered this placement which involved transcribing the diary of a former Diocesan Training College (York St John) student. The whole experience was enjoyable and enabled me to develop skills, such as patience, time management, or resilience – skills which will surely help me in the future. Besides the needed work experience I gained, this placement was especially fascinating because I got to be immersed in the life of a student about my age, who lived a little over a century ago.

Context – who was William Holmes?

William Holmes studied at the Diocesan Training College from 1892 to 1893. Though there is not so much information about him, we assumed that he wanted to pursue teaching after completing his training. His life at the College was quite mundane. A usual ‘routine’ consisted of waking up at about 5am, attending the Service at the Minster, then attending lectures, Church again, and finally, they had some time to themselves before dinner.

As expected, their studies and activities revolved predominantly around religious practices and basic notions of arithmetic, literature, and arts.

At some point, William and his peers were required to go on a military camp. William stated clearly that he couldn’t wait for it to be over, as it was very exhausting, both mentally and physically, yet he completed his tasks there with no further ado. On the other hand, at the College, he and his peers pranked each other very often, sometimes they pranked their teachers as well, which resulted in detentions. It is worth mentioning that the pedagogical practices were very different to what we are used to now. The students were often punished, and the teachers’ role focused more on exerting discipline and authority, and less on the collaborative and constructive aspects of teaching.

By the end of the diary, he was particularly nervous for his final exams and for his uncertain future – some things never change! I will admit, most parts were very repetitive (he wrote in that journal every single day), but it was fascinating to be transported into his life.

I got to read what he was feeling, what his worries for the future were, and I also got a glimpse of his relationships to his friends and family. The mundanity of the diary made everything relatable – though we are now living in a progressive and highly digital age, we still have things in common, which made me realise that human nature stays, to a certain extent, the same.

Reflections

On the first day, I had to undergo training. As a part of it, I had the opportunity to see the Archive, learn about the university’s history, and last but not least, I got to see a glimpse of how diverse documents are catalogued in the online hub. After this, I got familiarised with the diaries’ content and their location. And so, my task was to transcribe the content from the original physical copy to a digital Word document for two days a week. Besides the fascination I had while working with the original copy, and being immersed in William’s daily activities, I had experienced some self-reflections as well, which helped me realise what my skills are and what I want from my future job.

Before this placement, I was interested in pursuing publishing after graduation. However, during this experience I realised that such a job requires a lot of patience and meticulousness – characteristics which I often struggle with. I managed to transcribe seven volumes and despite the determination I had to transcribe as much as I could, I found that this kind of work is very repetitive and monotonous. However, I enjoyed working with the diaries and seeing the Archive. It was very fascinating seeing how the artefacts were preserved and catalogued. All those photos, documents, and diaries stood the test of time and though they were probably considered insignificant at the time they were produced, they surely are invaluable now. Thus, this experience sparked my interest in Archiving, and I think that this shift in my interests would not have been possible if I did not have the opportunity to engage with this environment. All the skills I gained during these past months will undoubtedly benefit me in whatever career I will end up pursuing. What I also learned, is that one never knows what the future holds, and that it is important to gain a lot of experience, in order to find out what one’s values, priorities, and boundaries are. All those experiences will take one somewhere, even if it is something completely unexpected.

You can read the diary transcription that Raluca and other interns and library staff worked on here: Diary of William Holmes 1892-3