内容摘要：Archaeologists have put out a plea for volunteers to help sort through thousands of historical items in a city's museum.

Archaeologists have put out a plea for volunteers to help sort through thousands of historical items in a city's museum.

What was the atmosphere like in those last days as the administrators moved in?"It was pretty grim, we were all called into the lecture theatre and the managing director gave a speech about how the board 'had tried everything'. Then came the unpleasant experience of handing over passes and getting personal items. It was definitely a bad day at the office."

This bad day was too much for some. "A few people were in tears. A lot of them were shocked and upset because they'd hoped we could pull it off right up to the end."It was galling for Mr Varvill "because we were turning it around with an improved engine. Just as we were getting close to succeeding we failed. That's a uniquely British characteristic."Did they follow the traditional path after a mass lay-off and head to the nearest pub? "We had a very large party at my house. Otherwise it would have been pretty awful to have put all that effort into the company and not mark it in some way."

His former colleague Kathryn Evans headed up the space effort, the work around hypersonic flight for the Ministry of Defence and opportunities to apply the technology in any other commercial areas.When did she know the game was up? "It's tricky to say when I knew it was going wrong, I was very hopeful to the end. While there was a lot of uncertainty there was a strong pipeline of opportunities."

She remembers the moment the axe fell and she joined 200 colleagues in the HQ's auditorium.

"It was the 31st of October, a Thursday, I knew it was bad news but when you're made redundant with immediate effect there's no time to think about it. We'd all been fighting right to the end so then my adrenalin crashed.""This sculpture is the missing piece, a masterpiece which deserves to be on display in the town where Hepworth was born."

Sir Antony said: "Barbara Hepworth's work remains a luminary example of both an engagement with modernism and a return to direct carving."The opportunity for the museum named after her to acquire this important work is precious and should be supported."

The gallery is home to Wakefield's art collection, including significant works by Dame Barbara but excluding her finished works from the 1940s.Jenny Waldman, Art Fund director, said: "This rare and significant sculpture should be on public display in the UK now and for generations to come.