The Scillonian Magazine archive now digitalised
To coincide with the publication of this final issue of The Scillonian magazine this summer, the Isles of Scilly Museum is proud to present The Scillonian magazine digital archive.
For a hundred years, The Scillonian magazine has kept its finger on the pulse of Scilly life and informed and entertained Scillonians and visitors alike. It is a precious part of our heritage, and an invaluable record of Scilly over the decades. Clive Mumford, synonymous with the magazine for so many years, wrote these words as an introduction for us shortly before he passed away:
“The word 'digitisation' would have meant nothing to the twin early editors of The Scillonian magazine: Carn Thomas school headmaster, Geoffrey Fyson, and the extravagantly named Chaplain of the Isles, William Lancelot Thorrel Barclay. Undoubtedly they would have been gratified that their efforts were being made so widely available. A century ago these two prominent islanders embarked upon the concept of recording in print the passage of Scillonian life. Thus was born The Scillonian magazine. Rather sniffily it announced itself as ‘The Proud Parent’ of its marine namesake, taking to the water a year later.”
You can find the archive at thescillonian.org. At the time of launch, issues 1-106 (March 1925 to Midsummer 1951) of The Scillonian magazine are available for viewing. A search facility is provided so you can look up particular words and phrases.
Not all the editions have been digitised! You can sponsor the publication of specific later issues by following the steps provided on the website. For example, if you visited the islands for the first time in the summer of 1979 then you might like to sponsor issue 209. You can even include a short message that will appear on the website next to your sponsored issue (e.g. in memory of John Smith). In time, the website will grow to be a complete archive containing every issue of The Scillonian magazine. An invaluable record of Scilly life over 100 years will thus be made available to everyone. The final two issues, numbers 298 and 299, are not currently available for sponsoring but they will be added at a later date. The website includes an introduction by Clive Mumford written shortly before he passed away. The first phase of the project has been supported by an Annual Philanthropy Award from SDS Heritage (part of The SDS Group) and by a legacy left to the Isles of Scilly Museum by long-time supporter Usch Schweer. The scanning and website design have been undertaken by SDS Heritage (part of The SDS Group).