Due to the privacy rules of the British Military, there is never a list in the MOD of who is Jewish and serving. So military rabbis have had to rely on people coming to them to be in touch. For the military rabbis of both World Wars this could be problematic as it meant they didn’t immediately know where to look to find the men and women that they were to support and who were being called up quickly and in large numbers. Further when they did find them how were they to keep track of them?
The Chaplain’s Cards are index cards that were created ‘on the job’ using the information that the Chaplains gathered through meeting service personnel or being given their contact details from family, friends and synagogues. There are over 70,000 index cards in total and the JMM holds them all as part of its heritage collection. They cover the whole of the Second World War and the National Service years. Some of the cards contain lots of information some very little. They are written in pencil as well as ink and over the passing years have become more and more fragile. The cards provide a valuable source of information about Jewish service and participation as well as a providing a broad-brush stroke of who served, where they were from and some of their basic requests from the Jewish Chaplains. Historians, researchers and family members can use the cards to find out all sort of information or as a starting point for exploring other historical sources.
Due to the fragility of the cards and the importance of ensuring that they are accessible we have spent the last year on a pilot project to digitise the first 2000 cards. This has been possible due to the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and other donors. The digital images of the cards will be put into a digital database that anyone will be able to access in the future.
For more information on the project contact headoffice@ajex.org.uk
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder for the UK’s heritage. Using money raised by National Lottery players we support projects that connect people and communities to heritage. Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. From historic buildings, our industrial legacy and the natural environment, to collections, traditions, stories and more. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.
Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage we are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past. Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.
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