The Archive:
The archive forms the core of the project. It will be a complete record of all of the graves and primary memorials of New Zealand's war dead. We realise that there are some locations that, at this time, are difficult to access, notably the Basra memorial in Iraq, but we feel sure that, in the near future, in some form, access will be possible.
As well as the photographing of “primary memorials”, extensive photography of the cemeteries and their surrounds, using advanced techniques which were unavailable a few years ago, will add detail and depth to the records.
In addition, the archive should contain images of memorials to New Zealand forces, such as the New Zealand Memorial at Le Quesnoy – and while it has been photographed before, we believe that a professional image is needed for this project.
The final content of the archive will be made in consultation with professional historians. It is our intent to form a board of studies to provide guidance and direction to the project.
We have extensive experience in database design and configuration and realise the importance of ensuring the transportability of the data we collect, both for integration with other databases, and any other future use. Images in the database will be of consistent size (4k pixel long side), and of consistent colour and quality.
It should be noted that no government or organisation has a complete record of their war graves and cemeteries. This would be a world first.
Agreement has been reached with the Auckland War Memorial Museum to accept the archive and host the website on its completion, ensuring the safe-keeping of the material for use by future generations of New Zealanders. Despite having “Auckland” in its name, it is the sole war memorial museum in New Zealand designated as such, and has a national focus on military history, hosting the “Cenotaph” database of all New Zealand’s service personnel, with which we are pleased to associate.
The Website:
The creation of a website will allow free public access to the archive, albeit using lower resolution images, and will allow searching for servicemen and cemeteries using very simple search criteria.
The website will eventually extend the functionality of the collected images, adding “virtual tours” of some of the cemeteries, panoramic images and in some instances, interactive cemetery plans and web movies of suitable subjects, such as the daily Menin Gate ceremony.
The website will also allow special interest groups to contribute. A good example is the Medical History Society, which has shown considerable interest in the project, and would supply addition information on the medical staff/doctors amongst the servicemen. Search criteria may be extended to permit searching for such categories as, New Zealanders that served with British forces (seconded to the RAF etc), Maori, Regiments, service branches and specialties (e.g. Artillery), home towns, Post Office employees…… The list is only limited by imagination, time and funding.
In addition, it is possible to provide links to a higher resolution .jpeg image of individual headstones and memorials which could be downloaded and printed. We see no reason why this could not be possible, as there is no commercial interest in the images.
The project principals are working with other organisations to ensure compatibility of data with any other initiatives and to avoid duplication of effort.
Methodology (Photography):
As the images are required to be archived in a digital form, it is obvious that they should originate digitally. We have established that a minimum of a 12 megapixels sensor would be required to satisfy our quality standards, which is, at least, the same quality as film. Should film be used, for some special photography, it will be scanned at the same resolution.
All images will originate in the camera’s native RAW format (i.e. without in–camera processing) and be stored as a TIFF (uncompressed) format, which is universally accepted for archiving. There will therefore be two “high-quality” versions of each picture, plus the smaller JPEG images required for the website.
Images will be 4000 pixels, long side, except for the individual images for panoramas and “virtual cemetery” use.
It is imperative for the Trust to supply photographic and IT equipment to our contractors, to ensure:
- quality
- compatibility, throughout the project
- lower cost
- the use of special equipment when required (see below)
Exhaustive testing and comparisons have been made with various brands, and Canon equipment has shown to be the must suitable as:
- Largest sensor available in an SLR format industrial camera
- Best environmental seals to cameras and lenses
- Worldwide servicing centres
- Compact camera for general use (Pro1) has similar RAW format to the industrial camera.
Extra accessories that will be required to meet our standards:
- A 15-metre pneumatic “mast”, with “pan and tilt” unit, for low-level aerial views. Can also be used as a “tripod” for some memorials, where the inscriptions are too high for normal tripod use.
- A trolley which carries an industrial camera, laptop computer, reflectors/ flashguns/ batteries etc. for photographing the individual headstones and memorials.
- A panoramic-head tripod for panoramic (extra-wide angle) views and creation of “virtual cemeteries”
- In addition – spare camera bodies, tripods, stepladders, lighting kits, battery charging equipment, lenses, spare battery systems, desktop computer, spare laptop, photo-grade printer and supplies.
Files would be transferred back to New Zealand, by internet or courier at regular intervals.
Methodology (Logistics):
The Trust will operate the project by contracting the most suitable persons or companies to complete the various tasks to meet our goals.
The contracts envisaged are:
- Provision of images
- Post production of images
- Database design and maintenance
- Web site, Virtual cemetery and Graphic Design
- Historical and Social Research
- Project Management
Contracts will be awarded on a fixed-term basis, to perform the tasks associated with the three “phases” of the project.
Methodology (Timetable):
The project is scheduled to take three years, from instigation to completion. At which point the principals wish to gift the archive and website to others for maintenance and hosting. The website will grow incrementally as the images are collected, rather than at the completion of the project, and will contain updates/news on the project as it proceeds. However, the length of the project and the scheduling of the phases listed below is, obviously, dependent on funding.
Phase One:
Prepare Database and Web site and obtain images from New Zealand - some 3500 graves and memorials. Estimate 5000 images to process. Research the social/historical context of major cemeteries involved in New Zealand.
Phase Two:
Obtain images from the USA, UK, Europe, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Balkans, Greece, Turkey North Africa. the Middle East. Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore. 25,000 graves and memorials. Research the social/historical context of major cemeteries involved.
Phase Three:
Complete image collection from USA/Canada, Pacific/ Indonesia, Japan, Korea, South Africa and any other remaining locations. The remaining 1500 images. |
