James Daly

Experience

• 

  Portsmouth City Council

  Apr 2000 - Jan 2009

  Working in a busy Customer Service Desk in Portsmouth Central Library, I was responsible for shop sales, guiding visitors, telephone sales for events, administration of allotments and beach huts; mainly at evenings and weekends. Working in a front-of-house environment, caring for Museums and visitors. Duties involved cleaning, patrolling, cash handling in Museum Shops. Working unsociable hours, including evenings and weekends, including evening functions. A strong emphasis on quality customer service.

  • Customer Service Assistant

    Nov 2002 - Jan 2009

  • Museum Assistant

    Apr 2000 - Oct 2002
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  Portsmouth City Youth Council

  Jul 2001 - Sept 2004

  Leader

  I joined Portsmouth City Youth Council as a founding member in 1998, serving as a representative for Paulsgrove. I was elected as the Youth Council's first Leader in 2001, and re-elected in 2002 and 2003. I gained much experience of working with a wide range of young people, elected members and council officers. I regularly chaired meetings, including joint meetings with councillors, and attended public meetings such as neighbourhood forums, including to make presentations.My priorities as Leader were to move the Youth Council on from being a well-adjusted talking shop, to ensure that it represented young people from all walks of life, and had a real and tangible input into what happens in the city.In this capacity I was featured in J17 Magazine in 2001 as a 'young and powerful person'. Upon my 'retirement' in 2004 I was presented with a special award for services to young people and Portsmouth by the Lord Mayor. Show less

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  James Daly

  Jul 2009 - now

  Historian/Researcher/Writer

  My first book, 'Portsmouth's World War Two Heroes', was published in February 2012 by The History Press. My second book, 'Portsmouth's World War One Heroes', was published in November 2013. Both books regularly feature in the relevant Amazon top 100 categories. Amazon Reviews:'Wonderful book by an enthusiastic talented young historian. For young Daly is both his passion and his work. I hope he goes on to write more books''Absolutely fascinating! I came across this book whilst tracing a family member who was based in Portsmouth before being killed in action on HMS Glowworm in 1940 off Norway. Extensively researched and very well written, highly recommended!''James Daly has drawn here on a wide range of primary resources to provide a detailed yet highly readable account of the Portsmouth men and women who lost their lives in WW1''An outstanding and fascinating read, it really brings home the extent of service and loss in one community, bringing to life those who fought and made the ultimate sacrifice. I really could not put it down once I'd started reading! I've since visited some of the graves of the fallen and the memorial to those lost at sea. Highly recommended! 'I am also a co-author of an upcoming Portsmouth Paper on Portsmouth and the Great War. I have researched many varied subjects, such as the Portsmouth Pals Battalions in the Great War, and Australian Great War soldiers buried in Portsmouth.My current research interests include:* Planned Airborne operations between D-Day and Arnhem in 1944* The experiences of civilians during the Portsmouth Blitz* Portsmouth during the Cold WarI have given many illustrated talks to local and other interest groups, and written articles for magazines such as Britain at War. I am flexible about working in other areas too as thee skills utilised in historical research can be applied to any period or theme. I have appeared as a studio guest for BBC Radio Solent and other local radio stations. Show less

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  Portsmouth City Council

  Sept 2013 - now

  co-editor of the Portsmouth Papers, one of the longest running local history publication series running back to 1967 and with 80 volumes.co-curator of 'Silver City: 500 years of Portsmouth's history', Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery, a major exhibition of Portsmouth's nationally important Civic Silver collection along with loans from the Royal Navy Trophy Centre, Portsmouth Cathedral and the Company of Goldsmiths. the project has attracted funding from the Silver Society, the Decorative Arts Society, the Paul Mellon Centre, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Portsmouth Cultural Education Partnership.co-author of Portsmouth's Heritage StrategyLead writer of Portsmouth City Council's successful bid to Arts and Humanities Research Council's Collaborative Doctoral Programme for 9 PhD studentships, in partnership with the University of Portsmouth Show less My principal role is to support the Transforming the D-Day Museum Project Heritage Lottery Fund project. The Museum re-opened in March 2018. In particular my role involves;* researching the Museum's collections, including objects, archives, images, maps and vehicles*scripting and writing engaging, dynamic and audience-focused interpretation in labels, audio-visuals and interactives* liaising with museums/archives across the UK and internationally regarding loans*working with external design contractors, interpretive planners and participating in project management meetings*producing engaging social media content for Facebook, Twitter and YouTube *editing and writing the new D-Day Story souvenir guide*Line managing a Collections Intern working on the Museums collections and with other military Museums to uncover their D-Day stories*Installing objects into the new displays*reviewing the D-Day Story's collections, inspecting and photographing 500+ objects and updating catalogue records for over 9,000 entries to assess provenance*Writing a new Collections Development Policy for the MuseumIn addition to my primary role in the above project I also assist with:* Accepting donations in line with the Museums Collecting Policy and SPECTRUM standards* Cataloguing and caring for objects* Photographing, measuring and weighing objects* Updating information to the museum MODES Complete database* Supervising volunteers working on the collection* Assisting researchers and family history enquiries* Supporting community projects involving community archaeology and historical research*preparing collections for sharing onlineI am an Associate of the Museums Association (AMA) and I have also spent time working on secondment with the National Army Museum and the Memorial de Caen in France. I have worked with the media including BBC Radio 2 (Nick Ferrari) and the History Channel (Defenders of the Sky). Show less Responsible for providing administration support for the City Council's City Development and Culture Team. In particular I facilitated the administration of six museums, which between them enjoy over 300,000 visitors a year, finance including Purchasing, Invoicing (receivable and payable), and income, compiling visitor and other statistics, and processing group bookings and advising management on levels of business. I also worked on compiling claim paperwork for Heritage Lottery Fund projects, and also contributed towards the content of upcoming exhibitions.I also supported EU funded regeneration projects, in particular BEEMS, a cross-channel project aimed at developing the infrastructure needed by the offshore renewable energy sector. This project involved liaising with project partners throughout the UK and in France and attending project meetings. Show less

  • Cultural Development and Projects Officer

    Jan 2020 - now

  • Cultural Services Assistant

    Jan 2016 - Jan 2020

  • D-Day Collections Researcher

    Aug 2014 - Dec 2018

  • Administration Assistant (City Development and Culture)

    Feb 2009 - Dec 2015

  • D-Day Collections Assistant

    Sept 2013 - Jun 2014