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“I almost wish I hadn’t gone down that rabbit hole – and yet- and yet – it’s rather curious, you know, this sort of life!”
At Albertland Heritage Museum, our volunteers understand this wonderful sentiment from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Often, we begin a project with a clear idea of what we want to achieve, only to find ourselves happily disappearing down a “rabbit-hole” when a new piece of information is uncovered in our vast collection of archives.
It is one of the great joys of working with historical archives. There is one small problem – knowing when to climb back out of the rabbit-hole, and getting back on track to finish a project.
One interesting example of a “rabbit hole”, happened a few years ago when I decided to create a display about Special Constable Thomas Inger using a set of handcuffs inside a leather pouch.
Thinking this set were standard issue I approached the Police Museum in Porirua for more information. Their reply was not what I had expected. The pouch had nothing to do with early New Zealand Police and the curator pointed out that the RHR initials on the front of the case in fact stood for Robin Hood Rifles, a rifle club set up by a few friends in Nottingham in England during the spring of 1859 in response to fears of possible conflict with France.
The first parade of the 1st Nottinghamshire Volunteer Rifle Corps took place on Nottingham Castle Green, with just six men on the nominal roll. Only a few months later in August 1859 the men were joined by an additional 400 men and paraded on Castle Green again where they were inspected by the Duke of Newcastle. They were given the name of Robin Hood Rifles to reflect a strong local and county identity. Queen Victoria praised them as “the finest Regiment on parade” in 1876.
Knowing that Thomas Inger was from Nottingham I contacted the Local Studies Library there, but they could not confirm if Thomas had been part of the brigade. I was then directed to the Museum of the Mercian Regiment in Sherwood Forest but they too were unable to confirm his involvement so it looked as though this mystery would remain unsolved.
Several months later I read a delightful account by Edwin Stanley Brookes in a book written by Kevin Savage who described his encounter (at the age of 8) with a commanding officer of the 4th Dragoon Guards.
The officer placed his golden helmet on Edwin’s head, to the smiles of the passing troopers. Edwin from that moment was fascinated by the pageantry of these musical and colourful parades playing truant from school on more than one occasion.
What a surprise to read further on that Edwin (aged 19), and his brother Hovey along with friends formed a rifle club in 1859 which just happened to be the Robin Hood Rifles. Finally, the connection had been made.
Thomas Inger was a friend of the Brookes family, possibly a father figure to the three young boys who emigrated ahead of their parents at the tender ages of 22, 20 and 14, and he was also the family’s farm manager. The family could have been instrumental in nominating Thomas for the job of Special Constable giving Thomas the pouch to house the handcuffs that would ensure that law and order prevailed in Albertland.
