Handled with Care: Lessons from the collection

The volunteers and student placements at the museum make the work and projects we do possible.

From supporting educational groups, adding to the visitor experience, and assisting with collections – they make continuing The Argylls story possible. Our student placements aim to give the students hand on experience in the field they are studying, and for the majority of them, they will also gain academic accreditation.

We recently finished working with Jack, who had been a masters student from The University of Glasgow in Museum Studies when they first joined us. Jack started with the museum in January 2025, and was tasked with digitising part of our small collections. From researching these objects, photographing them and updating the database, he dived right in with enthusiasm. Even after completing his placement, Jack stayed on for further experience.

When asked about their time with the museum team, Jack said:

My placement with The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum has been an incredibly valuable experience as a Museum Studies student. Working primarily on the museum’s textile digitisation project provided numerous wonderful opportunities to develop my skills in a professional setting. This included textile handling and preservation, object cataloguing, photography, online database management, and archival research.

Working with amazing historical artefacts ranging from souvenir embroideries and captured German night caps, to first world war kilts and uniforms, fostered the development of these skills through hands-on experiences far above those in a textbook. In addition to my work with the textile collections, I was fortunate to participate in researching the escape attempts made by members of the regiment as POWs during the Second World War. This experience greatly developed my archival research abilities as well as my database creation skills. Having the opportunity to explore the deeds of the men alongside items from their service was both a powerful and educational.

Overall, my time at the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum has been an amazing personal and professional opportunity. The staff were always happy to answer questions, give pointers, and help me grow as a museum professional. It is an experience I will cherish and one I would recommend to anyone who has the opportunity!”

We wish Jack all the best for the future, and cannot wait to get started with our next cohort of student placements.

Written by Caitlin Meldrum, Audience and Communications Officer and Jack Barett.