In 1936, the Australian War Memorial acquired two stone lions that once guarded the Menin Gate entrance to the Belgian town of Ypres. The Memorial’s director, John Treloar, felt the Memorial had scored a “great scoop” because of their “historical value”. However, when the lions arrived in Canberra, it was apparent the damage they sustained during the war meant they would need to undergo some form of restoration. Unfortunately, little progress was made in this endeavour for several decades and the lions did not end up going on permanent display until 1991.
As a focal point of British military operations during the First World War, Ypres attracted large numbers of British visitors. The sites of memory scattered across the battlefields of Ypres were created by the events of the war. However, their continuing profile, status and significance was very much shaped by the way visitors explored the district. A number of interlocking elements relating to individual, and group, interests and practical issues of access and movement influenced the evolution.
De belangstelling voor bedrijfsarchieven is in België de laatste jaren duidelijk toegenomen. Mooie voorbeelden hiervan zijn de acquisitieprojecten die recent werden uitgevoerd voor de provincies Antwerpen en Vlaams-Brabant en het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest. In eerste instantie wil deze bijdrage de twee Vlaamse projecten evalueren en in een tweede fase nagaan of op basis hiervan een wetenschappelijk model voor verwerving van bedrijfsarchieven kan worden opgesteld, in navolging van het Nederlandse acht-stappenmodel.