I knew Anne as the archivist for the Caldecott Association.
Archives are a kind of defiance of death. They go beyond forgetting, and to the fixed foundations of things. They bring order and foundation. They create possibilities for belonging. They make it possible to stand still for a moment, and see what is absent, and see what is there. They are an anchor. And in Anne's case, thinking of her mother thrown into the water from a torpedoed ship, and then rescuing others with it, a lifebelt as well.
Anne was a presence long before I met her: she was a name in emails, began to take shape by word of mouth, and then she was a very live presence in the Archive, bringing the history of Caldecott with and within her. The Caldecott Community was visible in all its richness through her.
Anne was a person with many names, and that was confusing to me; but she had a clear, settled, passionate anchorage in the Caldecott materials that she had meticulously gathered about her and cared for: and she taught me. She taught me about the real life of the Caldecott Community, of course. But she was a complex whirl of a person for whom the archives of the Community gave definition; and I learned about archives from that. Through the memories and records she shared with me, her many names came together into one very strong and determined and insightful, dear person; and I learned about archives from that. I learned from Anne that archives were lifebelts and anchors simultaneously: that they save lives, and anchor belonging, and bring the exploded pieces of a person's life into a kind of safe harbour, where there can be rebuilding and repairing.
And she taught me about generosity and foresight: Anne used the gift of the discoveries she made about and for herself - about the practical and spiritual utility of archives, and the grounding, and integration, and sense of belonging and direction they gave to her, as a person - and she helped to ensure that these would be available for others, for other Caldecott children and family members; but also for future generations of child care workers, and other children who had been in care, and for those among us who are responsible for helping us to learn and understand the meaning of love and care, and how to go about it - current and future generations of historians and researchers, and family members: Future generations generally, whose lives will be better because of the Caldecott Community, because of the way it worked into her life, because of the records and materials she gathered around herself and placed into the Archive, and because of Anne herself.
I am grateful for Anne; and the future will be grateful for Anne.
Anne: Thankyou.
Craig Fees, formerly archivist for the Planned Environment Therapy Trust, where the Caldecott Association placed its archives