Contributor guide
How to contribute
What to send, how to date and scan an old photograph, and what happens once it is sent.
01What counts as an event?
Anything the group did, from 1937 to today: a camp, a hike, a jamboree, a promise ceremony, a service day, a training, a celebration, an anniversary, a fundraiser. Big or small, a whole group or one patrol.
If you are unsure, send it. The archive team would rather read one too many than lose one.
02I only remember roughly when it happened.
Pick the year and leave the month and the day as unknown. The record will say it is dated to the year, not pretend to more.
If even the year is a guess, choose the likeliest one and say so in the story, for example “around 1975, before the war closed the road”.
03How do I date an old photograph?
Look at the back of the print, which often carries a date or a lab stamp. Look at who is in it and how old they were, the uniforms and the badges, the cars and the buildings behind them.
Other photographs from the same roll or album usually belong to the same event. And ask whoever else was there: a correction from them is worth more than anything.
04How do I send old prints?
A scanner is best, but a phone works: lay the print flat in daylight, hold the phone straight above it, and avoid the glare of a lamp or a window.
Up to eight photographs per event. JPG or PNG. They are resized on your device before they are sent, so a large file is fine. If a photo is refused, open it and save a copy as JPG.
05Where exactly should I put the pin?
As close to where it happened as you can: the campsite, the village, or the town when that is all you know. You can drag the pin after dropping it.
On the timeline map you can right-click, or hold a finger on the map, to start an event already placed at that spot and in that year.
06What happens after I send it?
Nothing is public until a volunteer from the group has read it. They may call or write to check a detail, add a translation, or correct a spelling, and then publish it.
Once it is published it appears on the timeline in its year, with your name as the credit.
07Why do you ask for a phone number or an email?
Only so somebody can come back to you about a date, a place or a name. One of the two is enough. Neither is ever published; your name is, as the credit.
08Can I send photographs someone else took?
With their permission, yes, and say who took them in the story so the credit can travel with them.
Anyone who appears in a photograph can ask for it to come down, and it will.
09Which language should I write in?
Arabic, English or French, whichever comes naturally, or another language if that is how you remember it. Tell the form which one you used. The team may add translations, and readers whose browser can translate are offered one.
10Something on the map is wrong.
Open the event and press “Suggest a correction”, or write through the contact page. Say what should change, and whether you were there.
Ready to add one?
