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Manuscripts & Ephemera 1914-1918 Manuscripts & Ephemera 1914-1918   31 Books
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Photographs & Sketches of The Post Office Rifles in France & Calendar for 1916. Wall-hanging calendar, 320x255mm approx., consisting of 16 leaves: (1) Cover with decorative title, badge, coloured borders; (2) Photo. portraits of Colonel-in-Chief, CO, Adjt., QM & RSM; (3) 1st Bn. on Parade at Abbots Langley Before Leaving for France, March 1915; (4-15) Monthly calendars with many appealing & mostly humorous sketches by Sgt. F.H. Turner; (16) Caricatures of CO & Lt. Peel. Art paper throughout, 7 photos. & 20 sketches in all, with red/green ribbon tie at top for hanging The Regt. Contemp.  #61033
[HLMainPic] Appealing contemp. 8th London Regt. regimental souvenir & doubtless a rare survival. Little dusty & chipped, generally VG. See illustrations on our website.   £125
The W.R.A.F. on the Rhine. July [1919]. 1st Ed., orig. dec. wraps., 27pp., 4 photos. No imprint/date [Cologne, July 1919].  #53289
[HLMainPic] The first of just three numbers published (in July, August & Sept. 1919), of a journal for the WRAF at Cologne with the Army of Occupation in 1919, consisting of contributions by women at RAF HQ, inc. descriptions of their work & conditions, entertainments &c. Little chipped & worn, overall VG & rare survival. See illustration on our website.   £35
The W.R.A.F. on the Rhine. No.3. September [1919]. 1st Ed., orig. dec. wraps., 24pp., 5 photos. No imprint/date [Cologne, Sept. 1919].  #53293
[HLMainPic] The last of just three numbers published (in July, August & Sept. 1919), of a journal for the WRAF at Cologne with the Army of Occupation in 1919, consisting of contributions by women at RAF HQ, inc. descriptions of their work & conditions, entertainments &c. Little chipped & worn, overall VG & rare survival. See illustration on our website.   £35
Small scrap album/autograph book with WW1 content. Cloth covers with sketch & legend 'Autographs', 17x14 cm approx., plain leaves mostly bearing inscriptions & sketches, with a number by WW1 servicemen, also other content & some remain blank. Sp. chipped/worn with loss but internally sound.  #54296
[HLMainPic] WW1 contributions by soldiers include several good coloured sketches (including trench scenes) & cartoons, regimental badges & patriotic messages. See illustrations on our website.   £50
A Corner of Armageddon. 1914-1918. A Personal Narrative of the Great War by Corporal of Horse Percy Lloyd King, Second Life Guards. [ii]+75+[iii]+[ii]pp., foolscap, dup. typescript (rectos only), approx. 52,000 words. Privately circulated by the author. 1919  #58583
[HLMainPic] Very rare account by a NCO (Corporal of Horse is a rank unique to the Household cavalry, corresponding to a sergeant in other regiments) of the 2nd Life Guards of service in France & Flanders from October 1914-November 1918. A very well written & informative narrative of much value on the active service of the regiment & other matters pertaining to it. In August 1914 2nd Life Guards was denuded of some of its best men & horses to the newly formed Composite Regiment of Household Cavalry, which proceeded immediately on active services. King's story therefore commences with the regiment being brought up to full strength by drafts from other cavalry regiments, so that it in itself could proceed on active service, as it did in October. During the rebuilding of the regiment in 1914 "it must be noted that the equine half of the Regiment was practically untrained in military work, the majority of the animals being blissfully ignorant of Riding School manners & customs. Undoubtedly a great many of them knew more about the hunting field, (or haply the tradesman's van), & so, just at first, the mere act of drawing swords created quite a flutter, while the practice of the Charge often led to the multiplication of 'Troop Leaders'. & the exercise of considerable invective. For my own part, although the animal I bestrode was powerful, lovable & 'a grand lepper', I could always be unpleasantly sure, in the event of a charge, of getting away with the first flight, & involuntarily appearing to wish to oust the Colonel from his rights & privileges! But I always comforted myself with the conviction that Active Service would tone down this Pegasus of mine to behaviour more seemly, & so, in the event, it proved." It also proved that on arrival in Flanders they were to be thrown into the First Battle of Ypres: "We took up a position dismounted [on the line Passchendaele-Westroosebeke], & were presently so perseveringly attended to by the Germans, whose guns were feeling for a battery on our left, that we got the order to dig in. This was not so easy as it sounds, as there were few, if any, shovels available. However, by working with bayonets & fingers & the soil being luckily soft & free from stones, we at length made quite a respectable trench..." The next afternoon [21st October] "...we were haled from a turnip field, where we had been resting, to a very pretty little affair in Zonnebeke. Arrived thither somewhat rapidly, we dismounted in the shelter of the streets, & were led into the grounds of a chateau, where, almost immediately, we came under rifle fire. Some of us selected a circular flower bed as being about the best place to view the proceedings from, and, as the firing evidently came from some reeds on the other side of a sheet of ornamental water, proceeded to respond to the attention. It seemed that the greater part of the enemy were on the sky-line, rather out of effective rifle range, but that the Germans had left some snipers in the grounds of the chateau... We were presently withdrawn from the chateau grounds, & lined a hedge by the road outside, the texture of which was so thick that it was necessary for each man to clear a little loophole for himself with his bayonet... When word was passed to retire, we had to do so rather carefully, running past a big gap in the hedge, one by one, & on arriving at the near end of the line of horses, found... Four carcasses were lying in rather a ghastly mess at different points along the road... one of our Corporals had been killed... An exhausting night march to Voormezeele followed" Unknown to the men at the time, their support on a flank had enabled the infantry in front of the village to maintain its line, "but, for all we knew... we might have been acting as disappearing targets for the improvement of German marksmanship." Much activity followed during the next week, including action at Zandvoorde &c. 31st October found King witnessing events at Ypres: "I remember seeing a woman & several children at the gate of a cottage, watching the shells bursting on the sky-line, & evidently trying to decide whether to swell the ranks of the refugees or to remain where they were. A pitiful sight enough, but one all to common... The sight of refugees moving away from their houses, with such poor baggage as their limited means of transport enabled them to convey, was distinctly pathetic..." On 6th November near Hooge: "A young officer of ours, a Lieut. Peterson, was hit in the leg, not far away to my left, & was also killed by a second bullet as he was being carried out of it. The Troop Officer, Lieut. Sandys, was hit in the shoulder & I saw him crawling painfully away, but had no time to enquire as, with the putting out of action of the only two British officers in the immediate neighbourhood, the control of the Troop devolved upon me, as the senior N.C.O. present..." These extracts convey the quality of the observant & eloquent narrative. He remained with the regiment on the Western Front throughout the war including much further action during the second battle of Ypres, 1915, assisting in holding the Hohenzollern Redoubt in Jan. 1916, at readiness on the Somme for a breakthrough, but not employed, more of the same in 1917 & 1918, but often employed providing digging parties & so forth. The account includes an index & concludes with a short but useful statement of the services of the regiment in the war. Nice contemp. cloth binding, red cloth spine & corners with blue cloth boards & leather letterin label to fron, incribed by the author: "To:- Mrs Edward Tregoning of Launceston. In token of the friendship of many years from the Author. P. Ll. King. 23rd September 1919." See illustrations on our website.   £1250
1919 Souvenir of the [38th] Welsh Division. Ed. by Capt. N. Hodgson. 1st Ed., orig. printed wraps., 71pp., 4to, illus. throughout in col. & b/w (sketches & cartoons). Cardiff: Western Mail. 1919  #56952
[HLMainPic] Contributions by numerous members, mainly humorous, edited by Capt. N. Hodgson (of the Divisional Train). Orig. dec. wraps., chipped at edges, sound. See illustration on our website.   £30
Aus dem Kriegsgefangenen-Lager Mannheim. 1st Ed., oblong 4to, orig. dec. wraps. with oval photo. onlay to front, [50]pp., each page a photo. (captioned in German, French, English & Russian). Mannheim: Dr. H. Haas'sche Buchdruckerei. nd (c.1917).  #57898
[HLMainPic] Camp souvenir containing 50 photographic views of camp life: general views of the camp, roll call, airing beds, canteens, arrival of parcels, newspaper office, library, theatre, gardens, shoemakers' & tailors' workshops, laundry, infirmary &c. Little stained & worn, VG, scarce. See illustrations on our website.   £75
Lieut. Henry Ward. 210 Bde. Royal Field Artillery. Commission to be 2nd Lieutenant, Royal Field Artillery (Special Reserve), 3rd March 1917.  #58257
[HLMainPic] Later promoted to Acting Captain & Adjt., 1/10/1917 & stepped up to W.S. Lieut, 3/9/1918. Copy of MIC provided shows entered theatre of war (France & Flanders) 26/9/1917 & served with 210 Bde. RFA. VG. See illustration on our website.   £30
2nd Lieut. Charles Douglas Lucas Hill, 9th (S) Bn. Royal Sussex Regt., formerly 28th London Regt. (Artists' Rifles): Killed in Action 14th February 1916. Hard covered "Partridge & Cooper's" pocket diary during service in France with the 9th Sussex from 31/10/15 to 31/12/1915, 157x100mm, with short but interesting daily entries (see extracts below). 2/Lt. Hill was Killed in Action 14/2/1916 when he & his entire platoon were buried alive by the explosion of a German mine. He is buried in Menin Road South Cemetery, near Ypres.  #58346
[HLMainPic] Hill landed in France on 31/10/15 & joined 9th Sussex the following day (the battalion had arrived in France just two months before, on 1/9/15). He was posted to command No. 15 Platoon, "D" Coy. (Lt. Robertson) & spent the winter in the trenches of the Ypres Salient apart from a one week bombing course (14-20/11/15) & machine gun course (20-25/12/15). Experiences in & out of the line typical of the period. Some extracts: 1/11/15: "Left Hazebrouck for Poperinghe but break journey at Godeswaersvelde & from there proceeded by motor bus to Reninghelst to find Regt. up in trenches. Report to Adjutant but sent back to spend the night at Dickebusche"; 6/11/15: "Start away at 2.45 pm for the trenches. Arrive at trenches about 7.30 pm. We relieve the R. West Kents"; 7/11/15: "Spend quiet day in trenches. Not much doing. Trenches in very bad state & need a great deal of attention. Slept with Shaw in his dugout, but very uncomfortable"; 11/11/15: "Try & improve my portion of trench. Get some of superfluous water away. Bosche sends a few whizz bangs over. A very wet night, & turn in wet. Dugout starts to leak"; 16/12/15: "Orderly dog. Inspect & mount guards at nine, billets & turn out guard at 12. Complaints round at 12.45. Staff parade 9. Turned out guard at 10.30. Lecture on trench tactics given by Major"; 17/12/15: "Parade at 9.00. Give lecture on trench orders. Practice gas helmet drill. Bomb competition in afternoon. 13 & 14 [platoons] win first round. Raining"; 18/12/15: "Parade at 9.30. Finish bomb throwing competition. 13 defeat 14 very close finish. Soccer match between B & D, B win by 3-0. Knight & Matthews come over & stop for tea." Useful but brief diary, mentioning a dozen or so other officers of the battalion, together with photocopies of Hill's personal file & WD extracts. See illustrations on our website.   £275
The Lonsdale Battalion, Border Regiment. Sept. 1914 to June 1915. 1st Ed., orig. printed wraps., 8pp. letterpress followed by 44 photos. Carlisle: Chas. Thurnham & Sons. 1915  #60163
[HLMainPic] Illustrated souvenir of the 11th (S) Bn. Border Regt., with an account of the raising of the bn. & roll of officers followed by photos. of officers, recruit squads, physical drill, bayonet training, cooks & dining hall, route march though Carlisle, &c. Interesting photos. of a Kitchener Bn. during training, with intersting & unusual photos. Minor wear, VG & scarce. See illustrations on our website.   £90

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