Detail – weakened centre of flag. © 2020 Tiaki Objects Conservation

“At a mile distant their thousand hooves were stuttering thunder, coming at a rate that frightened a man - they were an awe inspiring sight, galloping through the red haze - knee to knee and horse to horse - the dying sun glinting on bayonet points...”

— Trooper Ion Idriess [1]

In 2017, Tiaki Objects Conservation, was asked to work on a rare Boer War flag, held in the collections of the Lara Returned Services League (RSL), in Lara, Victoria, Australia. As a full scale flag, this was the largest complete textile of this scale to have come through my small, newly established studio. This paper, presented at Fibre to Fabric, Fur, Feathers and Finishes: AICCM Textiles SIG Symposium, held at the Sydney Jewish Museum in 2019, discusses some of the techniques, treatment decisions made, and some of the issues faced during the process.

CONTEXT

On February 15th, 1901, a troop of young Victorian men, left the shores of Australia on the Orient, the Argus and City of Lincoln bound for South Africa. Only a small portion of between 16,500 and 21,000 Australians who served in South Africa during the Boer War between 1899 and 1902; the 46 officers, 971 other ranks and 1099 horses; the contingent more famously known as the 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles, left their families and loved ones behind to go to war. Australians fighting in South Africa were doing so as part of Colony based Regiments such as the Victorian Mounted Rifles, New South Wales Lancers, Queensland Mounted Infantry as well as units from other states. Independent Colonies at this time, had relinquished their rights and obligations in regard to defence, on accepting State status within a Federal Commonwealth, however many enlisted when the request came from the Commonwealth in late 1899.

A member of the Victorian contingent, 1229 Trooper Frederick James Smith experienced this, and luckily enough, returned home to his family after war ended in 1902. Frederick James Smith was born at Lara, Victoria in 1879; a farm hand from Horton Vale, Anakie, before joining F Company of the 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles at the beginning of February 1901. Two weeks after enlisting, he left for South Africa on the Orient, to fight alongside many of his comrades in the Boer War. As part of the 5th contingent of Australian soldiers to serve in South Africa during the Boer War, Trooper Smith saw service between March 1901 and March 1902 and was part of the largest international deployment of troops from the Australian Colonies, before Australian Federation.

Mementos and memorabilia, many of which were carried by soldiers at war, remain prominent features in much of Australia's cultural heritage and are treasured by the organisations and institutions that care for them. Frederick’s choice of memento however, was probably a little different from most, deciding to carry a full size Union Jack Flag with him through the Boer War. Before leaving, he purchased the flag from W. Libby & Son, in Geelong. As he rode to war atop his horse, it is reported that he carried this flag into battle with him. Upon his return, he joined the South African Soldiers Association of Victoria – Geelong Branch, and after 1928, joined the Lara RSL. It was around this time that the flag was donated to the Lara RSL. Today, the RSL is located in one of the region's oldest heritage listed buildings where it has been since the late 1930’s. The RSL operates a small museum within the building, utilising an old safe for object storage, the hall and an adjacent room, to rotate various objects from the collection into display.

Image 1: Boer War Flag, overall back, before treatment. Courtesy of Lara RSL Sub-branch — Image 1: Boer War Flag, overall back, before treatment.
Courtesy of Lara RSL Sub-branch

Through grants and funding by Museums Australia, Victoria (MA Vic) – now Australian Museums and Galleries Association (AMaGA), Lara RSL have been working towards museums accreditation. One of the original members of the Veterans Heritage Project - a partnership between the Victorian Government and Museums Australia Victoria (MA Vic) - the project aimed to improve the capacity of ex-service organisations, veterans and students to identify and protect war heritage. Lara RSL received funding through the “Victoria Remembers” Minor Grant Program from the Victorian Veterans Council, to enable the treatment of the Boer War Flag. Victorian Collections [2], started advertising to encourage organisations to get their memorabilia online, and after finding out about a special presentation to Military museums, the president of the Lara RSL attended. In early 2017, Tiaki Objects Conservation was approached by AMaGA (then MA (Vic)), to undertake conservation treatment of this significant piece of war heritage, held in the Lara RSL sub-branch collection. This flag represents the start of the road towards the ANZAC tradition for Australia. This flag upholds the traditions that were later forged on the beaches of Gallipoli and on the Western Front. This spirit was alive in the Boer War before the words ANZAC were ever used.

DESCRIPTION

The Boer War flag is a full size flag, measuring approximately 1120 mm (H) x 2280 mm (W) and consists of 31 red, royal blue dyed and undyed, plain weave cotton panels. A red panel that extends the width of the flag forms the centre, with the remaining panels, machine sewn together to form a red cross on a white background, a white diagonal St Andrew’s cross, a red diagonal St Patrick’s cross and blue surrounding. The heading is attached to the proper right seam of the flag and is constructed of strong, undyed canvas, which is stitched along the front seam, folded and secured with a top-stitch on the back. A thick NATURAL fibre cord is threaded through the heading to form a loop for a snap-hook at the top of the heading. The cord hangs loose at the bottom of the heading to form the halyard. The maker’s inscription, “W. LIBBY & SON-GEELONG” is stamped with black ink, on the top front surface and the back, bottom surface of the heading.

“LARA RSL” is handwritten on the top, back surface of the heading. The word “TOP” is handwritten near the top, proper left corner. There is evidence of previous repair identified in the top right and bottom right canton, where patches of woollen blanket have been sewn over holes and areas of wear. The flag is treasured and was often used in marches in Geelong by returned soldiers, until 1916. It may have been used after this date but due to bush fires in Lara these records were destroyed.

CONDITION

An assessment of the flag indicated mostly good stability throughout, with much of the flag structurally intact. The stitching was secure and each of the panels, firmly stitched together. It is evident the flag has been exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation and likely, other sources of light for extended periods of time. This has resulted in colour change, causing the red dyes to fade to lighter tones and the white panels to darken to yellow. This has likely been compounded by incorrect temperature and relative humidity. Further, minor distortion is evident, particularly in proximity to the seams, where dimensional changes have resulted in puckering around the stitching. Fibres have expanded and contracted, under stress, with changes in relative humidity; continual fluctuations have likely contributed to additional stress of the fibres resulting in desiccation, fragmentation and general loss of flexibility. Weakening is evident in the centre of the flag, as a result of this degradation.

Horizontal and vertical creases through the middle of the flag, suggest prior storage techniques involved folding. This has unfortunately caused extensive splitting and some associated loss. Small, brittle fragments are actively detaching and fibres are unravelling along the break edges of the splits. Frayed sections are identified at the top right and bottom right of the fly end. Insect grazing is evident throughout; small holes appearing in numerous areas of the red and blue panels, particularly in close proximity to the wool repair patches.

Image 4: Detail – weakened centre of flag. © 2020 Tiaki Objects Conservation — Image 4: Detail – weakened centre of flag.
© 2020 Tiaki Objects Conservation

TREATment (re)considerations

During the first phase of the project, communication was first made through AMaGA (Vic), making it difficult to gain access to the flag, ask necessary questions and clarify any further detail about intentions for treatment. A treatment plan for the flag was devised using an image sent through email including the following details:

FLAG FROM BOER WAR (1901-1902)

· Cotton Union Jack flag approx. 90cm by 150cm with small repair patches and centre section cotton deteriorated;

· Ideally, to be stabilised and framed for display.

An initial treatment plan proposed a gentle brush vacuum and dry clean, to reduce surface dirt/dust; reduction of creasing using local humidification; realignment of fractured sections and stabilisation of brittle fabric, by reinforcing the area with backing; construction of a mount and stitch-mounting for conservation framing. The final stage of treatment would be to outsource the flag to a conservation framer, to frame the flag for long-term preservation.

In mid-May 2018, I was able to initiate a meeting with the President of the Lara RSL sub-branch, to finally meet face-to-face and more importantly gain access to the flag. The initial estimation was based primarily on second-hand information, so accessing the flag was crucial, not only to re-assess the condition of the flag, but to discuss the initial treatment plan, with Lara RSL and raise any concerns identified through assessment. Once the flag was unrolled, a number of significant observations were made. The original measurements relayed via email, indicated that the flag was 900mm (H) x 1500 mm (W), however it was obvious that once unravelled, the flag was much larger. New measurements indicated a height of 1120 mm (H) and a new width of 2280 mm (W); an increase of 220 mm and 780 mm respectively. The initial treatment plan was formulated using smaller dimensions, and the resources planned accordingly. Further discussion about the conservation and preservation requirements, with the president of the Lara RSL, lead to the development of a new treatment plan. This consequently lead to increased engagement to develop a more collaborative approach to the conservation treatment. The changes also affected an adaptation of the treatment space to accommodate the oversized object, and a search for new resources that could be transformed to support the oversize object. This would ultimately prove challenging for handling, transport and for conservation framing.

An additional, yet important observation was realising how far deterioration had progressed in the centre of the flag. Areas of loss were immediately discernible, and not easily determined in prior photographs. Sections of textile had disintegrated, leaving powdery and fragmented fibres where complete areas had been; surrounding areas had thinned and were evidently fractured and dislodged. Noting the observations made regarding the overall weakness of the centre of the flag, a preliminary test was conducted to check the stability of the area and determine if needle work could be sustained. Fine entomology pins were inserted at random localised points within the damage area, which resulted in further fracture and damage. At the same time, a fine needle with silk hair thread was also tried, in adjacent areas yielding a similar result. The area of damage was localised primarily to the centre of the main panel, while other slits between 100mm and 200mm were evident in the top and bottom centre panels. Sections of the flag immediately adjacent to the damage site and extending to the corners of each canton, retained good integrity, with little evidence of the structural weaknesses observed in the centre.

TREATment

Conservation treatment began with a brush vacuum, using low suction and synthetic, soft bristled brushes. The front and back surfaces were carefully cleaned using a dry cleaning sponge. Next, reducing creases through the centre of the flag was achieved by laying sheets of Mylar over affected areas, then blue/grey archival card weighted with a variation of flat and shaped weights. Each section was flattened from proper right to proper left, then from top to bottom, aligning the splits in the textile as much as possible. Strong, vertical fold lines were treated with localised humidification, combining dampened cotton flannel fabric, Sympatex and Reemay®, in layers beneath the treatment area for short periods of time. Workspace constraints disallowed the treatment to be applied at once, however by rolling the flag onto tubes, then working out in sections, humidification could be applied to affected areas in a more controlled manner

Once the sections dried, fragmenting pieces were carefully aligned and allowed to flatten under flat supports and weights. This step proved crucial as it allowed longer, very brittle fibres to be straightened for treatment. Pieces of silk crepeline, were shaped for support, leaving an allowance to overlap past the split edges. Each piece was brushed over with two coats of conservation grade adhesive, diluted with deionised water. Once dry, each piece was ‘mapped’ into place, starting with the top vertical split, then progressing through each repair, towards the bottom of the flag. This was the most practical approach due to the size of the flag and area of damage to be treated. The impregnated pieces of silk crepeline were heat-set to the back surface of the flag using a tacking iron set at approximately 100℃; the iron was worked from the centre toward the outside edge of the repair piece, over silicone release Mylar. The increased dimensions of the flag prescribed the need for a customised support mount using the largest format of board available - double wall, blue/grey archival board. Measurements of 2320 (W) x 960 (H) mm meant the height needed to be increased by at least 160mm; the addition was added to the lower edge of the board.

Both pieces were formed into alternating square joints, fitted together and adhered between the joint surfaces with pH neutral PVA. Gummed linen tape was secured along the back join edges for added structural support and to ensure the joins would remain intact.

A large piece of pre-washed, neutral, 50:50 cotton/linen blend fabric was laid over the mount, aligning to the edges of the board. Due to the size of the mount, the top and bottom fabric edges were folded to the back first, then secured between card blocks and spring clamps while curing. This allowed the corners to be trimmed prior to adhering. Each remaining overlap was folded to the back and secured in a similar way. Time was spent adjusting and straightening the lining fabric to ensure the alignment was right before securing with adhesive. Next the overlaps were adhered section by section with pH neutral PVA, then flattened with a bone folder. The lined mount was left to dry and off-gas for approximately 36 hours, then strengthened with gummed linen tape. Once this was dry, the flag was laid over the face of the mount, then smoothed from the centre outwards, taking care to push out kinks and flatten as much as possible.

The flag was hand-stitched to the backing with holding stitches, taken straight over each seam at equal distance points, along subsequent edges.

Image 9: Stitch-mounting the flag to backing support.© 2020 Tiaki Objects Conservation — Image 9: Stitch-mounting the flag to backing support.
© 2020 Tiaki Objects Conservation

The weaknesses at the centre of the flag are now supported, which reduces the risk of further physical damage and loss, significantly. It was important to retain some visual evidence of the history of the object - it is a significant part of the overall story. Some very faint fold lines are still visible and the support fabric was left undyed.

The mount is fitted inside a customised satin black frame, with a bevelled finish. A 2.5 cm spacer has been inserted to separate the flag from the 3mm Tru-Vue UV filtering acrylic glazing. The frame is backed with 5 mm acid free Fomecore, a wooden brace and vertical D-rings for hanging. Both the mount and customised frame provide increased structural support to the entire flag, further mitigating the risk of dimensional change resulting from environmental extremes. Constructing a customised frame for the flag, has provided a structurally sound support that averts the need for unnecessary handling. The presence of the frame has lead to increased opportunities for access, allowing community members to interact with the flag once more.

The Boer War flag was a challenging object to treat, simply due to its size. It was evident from the outset that engagement with Lara RSL, AMaGA and a conservation framer was beneficial for the overall progress of the project. In the initial stages, inaccuracies in information could have led to a completely different outcome, however by engaging with Lara RSL at the beginning, essential pieces of information could be gathered. Sharing this level of information was invaluable for decision making processes. It meant that appropriate materials could be chosen for treatment and relevant techniques explored for methods of storage and an added bonus was that every decision could be discussed with the RSL’s involvement, contributing overall to the conservation treatment. Additionally, the project highlighted how quickly circumstances can change and that it is important for conservators to remain vigilant in their practice, to possess an open-mind and remain flexible to this ever present possibility. Any change that occurs extensibly effects planning, particularly if other practitioners are engaged in the project. Another critical aspect of collaboration, is the ability to call on colleagues with specialised skills to assist with the final result. They rely on high level information to complete their part, so it is imperative that engagement seeks to gather this information, in the best way possible.

[1]. See Australian Light Horse Studies Centre, http://alh-research.tripod.com/

[2]. The Victorian Collections program is a partnership between AMaGA and Museums Victoria, and is funded by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria via the Victorian Cultural Network

Lara RSL Boer War Flag

CONTEXT

CONDITION

TREATment (re)considerations

TREATment

A look back to conservation in the field with Heritage New Zealand – Part One