Remembrance Day

Another in the series of portraits of soldiers of the First World War, for the 94th anniversary of Armistice Day. The Imperial War Museum is now doing their own "Faces of the First World War", posting one a day (here); these are all drawn from that collection. For an image focus I've kept captions minimal, but many contributors have added loads of information in the IWM posts, so do follow the links.

Imperial War Museum

Lieutenant William Hamo Vernon, from Kent, killed October 7, 1916, aged 21.  Source

Imperial War Museum

Captain W. M. L. Escombe, from Kent. Source

Imperial War Museum

Private Frank Joseph Butterworth of Queensland, Australia, killed August 4, 1916, aged 22. Source

More Faces of World War One

Definitely time for another one of these. (More)

James Nash (2nd Lieutenant). Source

George Alfred Batson (2nd Corporal, Royal Engineers. Killed in 1915). Source

Kenneth George Haslam Ford (Lieutenant, Cheshire Regiment. Killed in 1915, age 20). Source

Harold Jordan (Stoker Petty Officer). Source

Oliver Curtis New (Lance Corporal, Machine Gun Corps. Killed 1918, age 24) Source

J. A. Naylor (Captain, London Rifle Brigade). Source

Clive Townsend Thompson (driver, Field Artillery Brigade, Australian Imperial Force. Killed at Passchendaele, 1917).  Source

E. St. V. Nepean, (Lieutenant, Royal Field Artillery). Source

An unnamed man of the Royal Flying Corps. Source

John Edward Newton (Private, Northumberland Fusiliers. Killed 1917). Source

R. C. Thompson (Lieutenant, ANZAC). Source

W. Neill (Private, Northumberland Fusiliers) Source

R. R. Wood (Lieutenant). Source

Stewart Hugh Joseph (Major, Royal Engineers. Killed in Flanders, 1917). Source

James Hope Nelson (2nd Lieutenant, Reserve Cavalry). Source

J. A. Jordan (Private, Worcestershire Regiment). Source

George Tinsley Thompson (Sergeant, New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade. Killed at Gallipoli, 1915, age 24). Source

K. F. Nichol (2nd Lieutenent, RFC/RAF). Source

Portraits for ANZAC Day

I'm not an Australian or New Zealander (despite all the Aussies featured on this blog), but I am a) Canadian (and thus cousin to Aussies and Kiwis), b) fascinated by the people of the world wars, and c) saddened by those wars so today's post is honour of it being ANZAC day.

ANZAC day is the national day of remembrance to commemorate those who have served in the military for Australia and New Zealand. ANZAC itself stands for 'Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, a force that was established in the First World War and operated in the Mediterranean, culminating in the famous battle of Gallipoli. Though the Corps and acronymic name were not long lived, the spirit endured and became a part of the Australian and New Zealand psyches. After World War Two, ANZAC day became a day not just to remember those who had fought at Gallipoli and in the Great War, but in wars generally. So for North Americans or Brits-- it's rather like Veteran's or Rememberance Day, but coloured a little more with feelings of national identity. [A much better description is on the Australian War Memorial's site, here]

It's this last reason that really causes ANZAC day to resound with me personally. The Canadians and Aussies/Kiwis had a lot of the same experience of World War One-- it meant a lot to national identity and pride, as well as national mourning.

So-- today we have another post bringing some of these individuals closer. I've included men from both world wars-- and I do apologize to all New Zealanders, because they are mostly Australians. Let me assure you it's purely because the Aussies just have damn good online collections!

Private Harold Woodman Wilson Vercoe. Source

Private R. Thompson with his bugle. Source

Lt. Alan Stewart. Source

Private Billy Lock and Private Harry Lee. Source

Captain Daniel Sydney Aarons, MC. Source

Private H. Lacey-- veteran of the Boer War and World War One, serving in World War Two. Source

An RAAF [Royal Australian Air Force] fitter. Source

A repatriated POW from the AIF [Australian Imperial Force]. Source

A member of the RAAF. Source

And-- the funeral of an ANZAC man in World War One. Source

More photographs of Australian servicemen:

Australians of World War One

A Group Portrait

Love in the Time of War

Australians of World War One

 This seems like a random post theme, I'm sure-- I'm not Australian, for one. There isn't any particular reason other than that I've been browsing the endless collections of the Australian War Memorial, and World War one really, really gets to me. [Though I've apparently got a bit of traffic from Australian Google, so I suppose this can be a recognition of that as well!]


I am going to include some of the stories behind these pictures this time (details coming, of course, from the Australian War Memorial collections, though I've reworded), but again, I feel the greatest impact comes simply from looking into the faces of these very young men who fought and often died, and shouldn't have. 

Second Lieutenant Alexander Finnie, 4th Squadron, Australian Flying Corps (AFC), of Botany, New South Wales. He enlisted in 1914 as a sapper, was evacuated from Gallipoli in 1915 with gas poisoning, returned in 1916 and trained as a pilot in 1917. He was killed in a mid-air crash in May 1918 while shooting down balloons over the German lines-- aged 25. 

Source.

Corporal Mechanic Alexander Willliam Connington, 3rd Squadron Australian Flying Corps, of Goulburn, New South Wales. He enlisted in 1916, serving in France from August of 1917, and was in the process of training to be a pilot when he fell ill with pneumonia and died in Wales, October 23, 1918. He was 23. 

Source

Gunner Cecil 'Bill' Molle Feez, 3rd Field Artillery Brigade, from Yeronga, Queensland. He enlisted in 1916, aged 18, and graduated as a pilot in 1917. In March of 1918 he was shot down in France and taken as a German prisoner of war until December 1918. He returned to Australia in April 1919.  Source

Lieutenant Frank Alexander Butterworth MM, 30th Battalion, of Hay, New South Wales. He enlisted in 1915 and was awarded the Military Medal the next year for gallantry. He was killed in October 1918, just a month before the end of the war, aged 23. His brother also died in the war.

Source

Lietentaunt Frank Hubert McNamara of the Australian Flying Corps. In 1917 he performed a daring rescue of a fellow pilot behind enemy lines (nearly dying in the process) for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. He lived until 1961. 

Source

Another photograph of Frank Hubert McNamara, 23, recovering in hospital after the rescue for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. 

Source

2nd Lieutenant John Michael Stanislaus Gregor Stevens, a pilot of No. 1 Squadron, RFC, originally from Sydney. He was described in his squadron's records as "a very jolly fellow who could do anything with a Nieuport except take it off." In 1917 he was wounded while flying and died from complications of the following surgery. He was 17 and ten months. 

Source

Thomas Charles Richmond Baker, taking a picture of himself in a mirror. He enlisted in 1915 and was awarded a Military Medal for gallantry in 1917. In the same year he joined the Australian Flying Corps, where he flew over forty raids as a flight commander. He is credited with destroying at least eight enemy aircraft, and thus an ace. 

On November 4, 1918, he was killed in action. He was 21.

Source

I find this one especially touching in the way it shows how little difference there is between a twenty year old in 1916 and a twenty year old today. Just like any number of young people, he's taking a picture of himself in a mirror. You see these pictures all the time today. And yet, through all this he was fighting in a war that wasn't his, going up into the air every day not knowing if he'd return... and ultimiately, not returning. Today Thomas Charles Richmond Baker would have had such a different life-- and that just breaks my heart. 

Faces of World War One

As I've expanded on in the posts of Civil War and daguerreotype portraits [more to come on both of those fronts, by the way], it can be such a stirring experience to come face to face with people who lived a long time ago-- it's an instant erasure of all the time between us and them. This is the start of a third series of simple portraits, this time of the men (and occasional women) who served their countries in the First World War. These all come from the Great War Archive, an initiative of Oxford University to collect photographs, documents, and other memorabilia related to World War One from individuals and institutions. When possible these photographs include relevant information about the people they portray, but I've elected to include only their name. Many of these men, sadly, didn't make it back.

 

Chester Adams. Source

Evan Jones. Source

William Barber, 1917. Source

Ernest Powell. Source

Ivy Annison [served in the WAAF, Women's Auxiliary Air Force]. Source

Unknown RAF pilot. Source