Moving forward through the past

I have often admired the ornate and imposing building from the outside, with it's intricate gothic style masonry, but visiting the building recently I was struck by the forward-looking work that is being undertaken to promote the culture and heritage of the Apprentice Boys and the Loyal Orders.

My tour guide for the day was the General Secretary of the ABOD, Billy Moore, and we began the tour in the museum.

The museum has been updated of late to include an audio-visual gallery which gives visitors a potted history of the Siege story, and a variety of display pop-ups and boards chart the history of the ABOD as well as the many changes that have taken place at the Memorial Hall itself. It also means the history of the Siege and Apprentice Boys is easily transportable if there is an opportunity to bring the culture to the masses in other areas of the Province, making them useful assets for outreach work.

"This is the auditorium area where we bring groups in to absorb some of the history. Here they can sit and watch our video in four parts which gives a fairly concise history of the Siege of Londonderry and then goes onto explain the development of the Apprentice Boys Association. This is the starting point for any tour we bring into the hall," Billy says.

Imposing

One of the most imposing pieces in the room is a model of the Siege which has push buttons and explanatory notes around it explaining various aspects of the Siege story.

"Individuals who come in here to browse on their own as opposed to being part of a conducted tour can come in and look at the model of the Siege city and can highlight the various parts of the model and read and learn about what happened at the various locations," Billy tells me.

A big draw for people is the original Walker statue head, which is protected in a cabinet. Walkers pillar on the walls was built between 1826 and 1828 and sadly it was destroyed in an explosion in 1973, when the pillar was decimated. The head of Walker, a key figure in the Siege story, was saved and is one of the treasures on display, beside which is a gorgeous miniature model of the pillar as it once stood on the walls.

"This is a miniature by Robert Jackson, who donated it to the hall, and we have put it in a glass case for display. It is brilliant because it gives people a clear picture of what the pillar would have looked like. The effigy of Lundy was burned while hanging from it prior to the pillar's destruction. Even this model has a bit of history because the HQ of the B Specials was in Londonderry in Hawkin Street. The pillar here was actually the flagpole which was on Whitehall at Hawkin Street and Robert was able to rescue the pole and give it to a colleague or friend who was able to flute it to make it look like Walker's pillar," Billy said.

Murray was one of the leaders inside the Walled City during the Siege and in a cabinet nearby is his sword and sheath. He took part in a number of sorties and commando raids, and the sword has been passed down through the generations of his family and is believed to be one of many swords he would have had at his disposal.

Look up and overhead there are a number of large mural type paintings also donated to the Memorial Hall and now on display in the museum by Robert Jackson. There is the Battle of Pennyburn, the Wounding of Murray at Butcher Gate (Murray's cousin James Murray was killed at that time), there is the death of Captain Browning on the Mountjoy (the ship that broke the boom), and the mural at the top of the room shows the Jacobites firing mortar shells from the Waterside across the Foyle into the City. The murals have been donated within the last year, and are striking addition to the artefacts now on display.

Historic facts assail the senses in the museum, and if you get a chance spend some time dallying over the old maps and recirds - it's amazing the conditions people had to live in during the Siege - not to mention what they had to eat!