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Corporal Harry Cotton, Meteorological Office, 4th Army HQ Service Number: 160163 Later Lieutenant Harry Cotton, MBE, DSc. Born: 17 June 1889, Wandsworth, London (grew up in the Potteries) Died: 27 July 1985 (aged 96), Deben, Suffolk Figure 1. Harry Cotton, Liddle Collection WW1/GS/0371, Reproduced here with permission …
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In terms of surviving, processing and enduring the environment that Tommy Atkins faced during the war, humour played a vital role, one which should never be undervalued for its contribution. Lord Moran (1882-1977), President of the Royal College of Physicians, Winston Churchill's personal doctor, and author of The …
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I mentioned in the Staff, Suspects and Witness post that I was at something of an impasse regarding researching Dorothy Violet Hall. While I had fragments of information, there wasn't really enough to form more than a fragmented sentence here and there. I received an email in October 2023 from Richard Sheppard, a …
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For the fifth entry in this series, while this autograph book is a modest affair, with just 26 entries, it is one of the more interesting and insightful, books I have come across and was beneficial during my Master's research. The book belonged to a Winifred Mary Knight (1899-1981), a 1914 Christmas present from her …
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Sapper Charles Albert Barlow Kennett, Royal Engineers 7th Labour Company (later 706th Labour Company) Service Number: 59312 Born: 7 March 1898, Crewe, Cheshire. Died: 16 May 1979, Waterloo, Liverpool (aged 81) Figure 1. Charles "Chas" Albert Kennett, picture courtesy of Craig Williams, reproduced here with permission …
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This was originally one of my essays written as part of my master's degree at the University of Wolverhampton, and I am posting it here for two reasons: First, the subject of propaganda during the First World War has arisen in previous articles on this site, and I have several future articles in the pipeline that will …
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Private Louis William Ollier, 8th (Service) Battalion Cheshire Regiment (later 12th Combined Depot) Service Number: 59312 Born: 7 March 1898, Crewe, Cheshire. Died: 16 May 1979, Waterloo, Liverpool (aged 81) Ollier was born in 1898 in Crewe, Cheshire, the son of Richard Ollier, a Railway Clerk, and Nellie.1 He attended …
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I mentioned in the last entry in this series that I had been experimenting with a photography set-up. I chose this book from my collection next, which is considerably larger than a typical autograph book, to see if the set-up would still work. The result was so-so, with a bit of rejigging needed. I have been unable to …
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In my last piece, about the Printer and the Presses , I mentioned that I had come across a signpost in the second to last issue of the Wipers,now named the Better Times, in relation to the printing of the final two issues. This was the signpost: Our new paper is born in very different circumstances to the old Wipers …
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Private Alfred Edmeades Bestall, Army Service Corps Service Number: DM2/112832 Born: 14 December 1892, Mandalay, Burma Died: 15 January 1986, Porthmadog, Wales (Aged 93) I am the type of person, who when visiting an art gallery, bowls past the information desk, brushes off the tour guide, and boots the audio-headset …
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