[Photo Album]: World War I Soldier including Boy Scouts and Catholic Church

Published by England, France, 1914

About this Item

Oblong quarto measuring 11.5" x 9". Black cloth over stiff paper boards with "The Cambrian Album" stamped in gilt on the front board. Contains 50 sepia toned or black and white gelatin silver photographs measuring between 2" x 2" and 8" x 10" with captions. Very good album with cracked front hinge, rubbing, and edgewear. A World War I-era photo album kept by a soldier who worked with a British scout troop beginning in 1914. The album is not in chronological order and the first page is captioned "The War: - Clapton Gun Station January 1915." This page includes a photo of a blindfolded man with the caption, "shooting a spy." The following page shows men and boys from the First Surrey Troop, a scouting group, on patrol and working with the Expeditionary Forces. The boys are photographed on "farm duty" which was a major part of scouting duties during the war. According to *The History of Scouting During the First World War*; "one of the less glamorous but most important tasks the Scouts carried out was to assist farmers on the land. This role became more crucial as the War went on, as more and more able-bodied men left their work to join the armed forces, either voluntarily or, after 1916, by compulsion." The boys are also photographed during their leisure time swimming in a stream. The compiler of the album went to France in 1915 where he documented camp life including photos of men during their morning wash and men posed with rifles on guard duty. One photo captioned "keeping off the German planes" shows the soldier and a comrade standing at a post with an anti-aircraft gun. They were sent to the front in 1917 and he includes photographs of Lille and Armentières. One photo of from Lille reads, "Lille in German occupation," and shows soldiers and men on horseback. A later photo of Armentières from 1919 is captioned, "cleaning up the debris," and shows the ruins of the city. Also featured here is a letter from Colonel Bruce-Hay, a friend and colleague of the compiler written in 1918 praising him as a loyal soldier and friend. The last few pages are a collection of large photographs from the Anglo-Catholic Congress in July 1923. One photo shows a procession through Trafalgar Square complete with a lone protestor with a sign that reads, "Anglo Catholics are traitors to Protestantism." Another photo shows a crowd around bishops and another protest sign that reads, "Priests are England's Downfall." Another section of photos from 1924 shows a progression of a local Catholic church, St. Mary's and a final page shows a Boy Scout camp from the same year. A modest but interesting collection of material pertaining to a British soldier's involvement with the Boy Scouts, the Catholic Church, and his tour of duty in World War I. Seller Inventory # 414153

Bibliographic Details

Title: [Photo Album]: World War I Soldier including...

Publisher: England, France

Publication Date: 1914

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good