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One Hundred Years Ago

Started by Rix Gins, January 01, 2016, 08:20:14 PM

Rix Gins

A couple of 1918 postcards that were for sale on eBay.


The X marks the spot where a Navel officer fired a flare gun to signal takeoff of seaplanes.


A German sub is (supposedly) caught by a depth charge.

Rix Gins

From the Imperial War Museum, June 18, 1918.



QuotePotato-spraying demonstration, arranged by the Director of Agriculture, to be given to representatives of the Allied Armies with a view to decreasing disease in army-grown potatoes in France. Le Touquet, 18 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205244812 © IWM (Q 9026)


QuoteSoldiers of infantry and cavalry at the training camp in Rouen, 18 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205235827 © IWM (Q 3277)


QuoteA French Renault FT-17 tank, named "Manoeuvre", being loaded on a lorry at Epernay, 18 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205307485 © IWM (Q 58239)


QuoteOfficers of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment. Carvin, 18 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205238612 © IWM (Q 6715)


R.I.P.


QuoteRifleman Frederick Charles Mill 532150. Unit: 15th Battalion, (Prince of Wales Own Civil Service Rifles), London Regiment. Death: 18 June 1918 Western Front. Son of Jane Mill, of Fulham; husband of Eva Mill, of 26, Milton Park, Highgate, London.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205385816 © IWM (HU 125635)

Rix Gins

From the Library of Congress.  The Harrisburg Telegraph, June 18, 1918.


WOTR

Quote from: Rix Gins on June 17, 2018, 02:48:21 AM
Please let us know what you think of it, WOTR.
What can I say?  I would not want to watch a dozen films like it- but it was unique among anything that I have seen.  Much of the film is the story of the goldrush and the early days of Dawson.  It mixes clips of the silent films that were retrieved with clips of historical film and pictures. 

This film is itself silent with only a brief few minutes of talking near the end.  It tells the story of early film and the dangers posed by storage.  They talk of the fires in Dawson, the hotels, the bank, the miners and, of course, the movie houses.  There is really no "plot" but there is, without a doubt, a story that is told masterfully through the insertion of the silent film. 

In my estimation, the majority of the world would soundly reject this film as "boring" and turn it off in the first 10 minutes.  I sat fascinated by the early style of dress, the early cinematography, and a tale of the early days in a new frontier. 

If you are hoping to watch several uncut minutes of an old film, you are out of luck.  They take five or twenty seconds of a film, cut it to make their point, and then show you the next scene.  If they are talking about gambling in early Dawson, they will show you 5 scenes from the recovered film of Hollywoods interpretation of what gambling might look like in 1903. I don't know how they could have done otherwise... This film is not to showcase a completely restored reel from start to end.  It is to show pieces of over 500 films that were recovered after being buried in permafrost for half a century- and it is extremely well done.

In the end, I will not be recommending it to strangers on the street, or to a year old restless child.  It is to be consumed as a glimpse into a history that was lost for decades, and would have remained lost if not for a backhoe operator with a keen eye...  It is startling to realize that all of the labour of thousands of people to make these hundreds of movies was almost lost to the world.

Anyhow, if anybody wants the link, Please let me know...

Rix Gins

Quote from: WOTR on June 18, 2018, 10:43:31 PM
What can I say?  I would not want to watch a dozen films like it- but it was unique among anything that I have seen.  Much of the film is the story of the goldrush and the early days of Dawson.  It mixes clips of the silent films that were retrieved with clips of historical film and pictures. 

This film is itself silent with only a brief few minutes of talking near the end.  It tells the story of early film and the dangers posed by storage.  They talk of the fires in Dawson, the hotels, the bank, the miners and, of course, the movie houses.  There is really no "plot" but there is, without a doubt, a story that is told masterfully through the insertion of the silent film. 

In my estimation, the majority of the world would soundly reject this film as "boring" and turn it off in the first 10 minutes.  I sat fascinated by the early style of dress, the early cinematography, and a tale of the early days in a new frontier. 

If you are hoping to watch several uncut minutes of an old film, you are out of luck.  They take five or twenty seconds of a film, cut it to make their point, and then show you the next scene.  If they are talking about gambling in early Dawson, they will show you 5 scenes from the recovered film of Hollywoods interpretation of what gambling might look like in 1903. I don't know how they could have done otherwise... This film is not to showcase a completely restored reel from start to end.  It is to show pieces of over 500 films that were recovered after being buried in permafrost for half a century- and it is extremely well done.

In the end, I will not be recommending it to strangers on the street, or to a year old restless child.  It is to be consumed as a glimpse into a history that was lost for decades, and would have remained lost if not for a backhoe operator with a keen eye...  It is startling to realize that all of the labour of thousands of people to make these hundreds of movies was almost lost to the world.

Anyhow, if anybody wants the link, Please let me know...

Thanks for the very nice review.  I always enjoy reading your descriptions of movies and books. 

Rix Gins

Italian fighting ace Count Francesco Baracca's plane crashed in an Austrian valley on June 19, 1918.  He didn't survive the wreck.  At first it was uncertain what happened to him but a little later a fellow pilot did report seeing a burning plane fall in the vicinity. Five days later Baracca's body was found four meters from his burnt Spad.  Austrian records would later show that an Austrian fighter pilot had shot down the Italian Ace.

Biography of Count Francesco Baracca: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Baracca


Francesco Baracca posing by his SPAD S.XIII. Latest possible photo date is June 1918 (date of death).
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=214368

       


Jojo

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adelaide_of_Saxe-Meiningen&action=edit

In the summer of 1818, devout religious Princess Adelaide of Germany married a practical, humorous royal United Kingdom man twenty-seven years older than her.  She met him a week earlier, after his other princess candidates fell through.  He needed to marry because the government would give him financial benefits.  After he engaged, the government stopped the financial incentive.

He almost called off the marriage, when the incentive was withdrawn, but he ended up marrying anyway, because she accepted the children he had had out of wedlock, at least one of which was already an adult.  He paid a dowry of 20,000 florins plus promised 3 additional annuities.  It sound like she was constantly miscarrying, which must have been like being sick all the time with all those hormone changes that accompany miscarriages.  They were devoted to each other.



Fourteen


Rix Gins

Quote from: 14 on June 19, 2018, 11:46:55 AM
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adelaide_of_Saxe-Meiningen&action=edit

In the summer of 1818, devout religious Princess Adelaide of Germany married a practical, humorous royal United Kingdom man twenty-seven years older than her.  She met him a week earlier, after his other princess candidates fell through.  He needed to marry because the government would give him financial benefits.  After he engaged, the government stopped the financial incentive.

He almost called off the marriage, when the incentive was withdrawn, but he ended up marrying anyway, because she accepted the children he had had out of wedlock, at least one of which was already an adult.  He paid a dowry of 20,000 florins plus promised 3 additional annuities.  It sound like she was constantly miscarrying, which must have been like being sick all the time with all those hormone changes that accompany miscarriages.  They were devoted to each other.



Fourteen

Cool info.  Thanks, 14.

Rix Gins

From the Imperial War Museum, June 20, 1918.



QuoteA French Hanriot biplane at the Villacoublay aerodrome, 20 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205308146 © IWM (Q 60597)


QuoteA French Voisin bomber at the Villacoublay aerodrome, 20 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205308145 © IWM (Q 60596)


QuoteA French Breguet 14 A.2 two seat reconnaissance biplane at the Villacoublay aerodrome, 20 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205314347 © IWM (Q 67014)


QuoteA French Letord bomber, serial number L7 No. 297, at the Villacoublay aerodrome, 20 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205028697 © IWM (Q 66280)


QuoteA Breguet aircraft at the Villacoublay aerodrome, 20 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205307583 © IWM (Q 58354)


QuoteA captured German Fokker Scout biplane at the Villacoublay aerodrome, 20 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205304889 © IWM (Q 55026)


Rix Gins



Somebody on eBay is selling this glass magic lantern slide that shows an Edwardian man enjoying a pipeful during a country walk.  The slide dates back to 1918.   

Rix Gins

From the Imperial War Museum, June 21, 1918.



QuoteThe officers of No. 85 Squadron, including Major Mannock, in front of their Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a scouts at St Omer aerodrome, 21 June 1918. The bareheaded airman stood directly behind the black goat is Walter Hunt Longton.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205087472 © IWM (Q 12049)


QuoteRoyal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a scouts of No. 85 Squadron on St. Omer aerodrome, 21 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205087471 © IWM (Q 12052)


QuoteA flight of five Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5A scouts of No. 1 Squadron flying from St Omer aerodrome in formation, 21 June 1918. In the background by the hangar on the right can be seen the remains of a "crash" when a Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 of No. 1 crashed into a Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 of No. 53 Squadron. The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 pilot was killed and the machine burnt, and the Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 was destroyed.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205247591 © IWM (Q 12053)

Rix Gins

From the Library of Congress.  The Seattle Star, June 21, 1918.

Rix Gins

From the Imperial War Museum, June 22, 1918.



QuoteMotor machine gun section at Dieval, 22 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205214997 © IWM (Q 9002)


QuoteMotor machine guns - gunners feeding a new ammunition belt into a gun. Dieval, 22 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205244789 © IWM (Q 9001)


QuotePainting camouflage on a tank in Erin, 22 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205091980 © IWM (Q 6827)


QuoteTanks in their sheds in Erin, 22 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205238710 © IWM (Q 6828)






Rix Gins



Here is a 100 year old picture of French soldiers resting.



Here is the same image in 3-D.  You can actually see the picture in 3-D if you stare at the tree in the center and relax your vision.  After a moment the image will 'drift' and when it does, you will see three identical images but the one in the middle will be in 3-D.  Just don't cross your eyes, it won't work that way, and don't click on the picture to make it bigger.  When free viewing stereo images, smaller is always better.

Rix Gins

From the Imperial War Museum, June 23, 1918.



Quote12th Battalion Royal Scots on daylight reconnaissance patrol at Meteren, 23 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205238632 © IWM (Q 6737)


Quote12th Battalion Royal Scots manning the lip of a mine crater at Meteren, 23 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205238630 © IWM (Q 6735)


Rix Gins

From the Imperial War Museum, June 24, 1918.



QuoteArmy Boot Repair Shop in Calais, 24 June 1918. #1
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205238636 © IWM (Q 6741)


#2
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205238639 © IWM (Q 6744)


#3
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205238640 © IWM (Q 6745)


R.I.P.


QuotePrivate Arthur Robinson Eastbourn MM 3892. Unit: B Company, 16th Battalion, Australian Infantry, Australian Imperial Force. Death: 24 June 1918 Hamel Western Front.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205294166© IWM (HU 121251)


albrecht

Quote from: Rix Gins on June 24, 2018, 02:05:00 AM
From the Imperial War Museum, June 24, 1918.


https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205238636 © IWM (Q 6741)


#2
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205238639 © IWM (Q 6744)


#3
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205238640 © IWM (Q 6745)


R.I.P.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205294166© IWM (HU 121251)
Important design work for the modern hobnailed boot was done during World War I, e.g. the "Pershing Boot" in the United States.[1] Problems experienced in designing WWI US Army boots were:

       Tearing at the backstay: solved by securing the backstay with 3 rows of stitching each side.
    Letting water in: solved by dubbin.
    Rotting in foul conditions in trenches: solved by chrome tanning rather than using vegetable tanning.
    Cold conducting through hobnails into the feet: that, and need for strength, solved by three thicknesses of leather in the soles.
    Sole wear: toe and heel irons in addition to hobnails.

Rix Gins

Quote from: albrecht on June 24, 2018, 06:48:28 PM
Important design work for the modern hobnailed boot was done during World War I, e.g. the "Pershing Boot" in the United States.[1] Problems experienced in designing WWI US Army boots were:

       Tearing at the backstay: solved by securing the backstay with 3 rows of stitching each side.
    Letting water in: solved by dubbin.
    Rotting in foul conditions in trenches: solved by chrome tanning rather than using vegetable tanning.
    Cold conducting through hobnails into the feet: that, and need for strength, solved by three thicknesses of leather in the soles.
    Sole wear: toe and heel irons in addition to hobnails.

Very interesting.

albrecht

Quote from: Rix Gins on June 24, 2018, 07:04:41 PM
Very interesting.
Purely anecdotal but several times I wore my steel-toed and steel-shank Redwings in the cold and they seemed to feel "colder" even than wearing cowboy boots which are just leather. The comparison between the steel-toed and hiking or winter boots wouldn't be a fair one but I think comparing to normal boots is fair and they seemed to get colder. No hob-nails, ha, but seemed colder than just leather boots. And likely the leather is actually thicker on the Redwings. 

Being in a soggy, trench in the winter with a bad pair of boots and bad socks would really suck. Well, in the summer also. In general that war was so awful, I hope they teach about it in schools and show photos. The combination of old tactics and new technology made it horrible.

Rix Gins

From the Imperial War Museum, June 25, 1918.



QuoteA 320 mm Schneider railway howitzer in the US Army Ordnance Department at Haussimont, 25 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205086608 © IWM (Q 108354)


QuoteSoldier of the 12th Battalion, Royal Scots, wiring a ditch, near Meteren, 25 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205238664 © IWM (Q 6779)


QuoteConstruction work at the Locomotive Depot at Rang-du-Fliers, 25 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205246035 © IWM (Q 10333)


R.I.P.


QuoteMiss Florence Buckley BA, Voluntary Aid Detachments. Died June 1918 25 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205380009 © IWM (WWC H2-177-A)

Rix Gins

QuoteFrom the Imperial War Museum, June 26, 1918.



QuoteBristol F.2B Fighter biplanes flying over Serny Aerodrome on their way to the German lines, 26 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205246033 © IWM (Q 10331)


QuoteA former London double-decker bus (B.2125), camouflage painted, used as a travelling loft for carrier-pigeons. Pernes, 26 June 1918. Note the four-compartment wicker basket in which the pigeons were carried up the line.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205244787 © IWM (Q 8999)


QuoteConstruction work at the Locomotive Depot at Rang-du-Fliers, 26 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205246051 © IWM (Q 10349)


R.I.P.


QuoteStaff Nurse Rachel Ferguson, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve. Died in Italy 26 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205380336 © IWM (WWC H21-44-1)

Rix Gins

The Battle of Belleau Wood comes to an end.  (June 6th to June 26th, 1918.)

https://youtu.be/6W4B06sXfyI

Rix Gins

From the Imperial War Museum, June 27, 1918.


R.I.P.


QuoteM A Follette, Canadian Army Medical Corps. Drowned when the Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle was torpedoed 27 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205380357 © IWM (WWC H22-34)


QuoteM K Gallaher, Canadian Army Medical Corps. Drowned when the Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle was torpedoed 27 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205380387 © IWM (WWC H22-30-A)


QuoteC J Douglas, Canadian Army Medical Corps. Drowned when the Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle was torpedoed 27 June 1918. (Incorrect date of death in caption.)
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205380239 © IWM (WWC H22-24-1)


QuoteMargaret Jane Fortescue, Canadian Army Medical Corps. Drowned when the Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle was torpedoed 27 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205380365 © IWM (WWC H22-11-1)


QuoteJessie M McDiarmid, Canadian Army Medical Corps. Drowned when the Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle was torpedoed 27 June 1918. (Incorrect cause of death noted in caption.)
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205380855 © IWM (WWC H22-32-1)

Info on HMHS Llandovery Castle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMHS_Llandovery_Castle

WOTR

Quote from: Rix Gins on June 27, 2018, 01:55:38 AM
From the Imperial War Museum, June 27, 1918.


R.I.P.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205380357 © IWM (WWC H22-34)

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205380387 © IWM (WWC H22-30-A)

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205380239 © IWM (WWC H22-24-1)

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205380365 © IWM (WWC H22-11-1)

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205380855 © IWM (WWC H22-32-1)

Info on HMHS Llandovery Castle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMHS_Llandovery_Castle
Nice to see that you beat me to it.  I had the Llandovery Castle webpage up for the last week reminding me to post it today.  From Wikipedia (though I'm sure you have already read it, I figure there may others who have not...)

""Unflinchingly and calmly, as steady and collected as if on parade, without a complaint or a single sign of emotion, our fourteen devoted nursing sisters faced the terrible ordeal of certain death--only a matter of minutes--as our lifeboat neared that mad whirlpool of waters where all human power was helpless.
I estimate we were together in the boat about eight minutes. In that whole time I did not hear a complaint or murmur from one of the sisters. There was not a cry for help or any outward evidence of fear. In the entire time I overheard only one remark when the matron, Nursing Matron Margaret Marjory Fraser, turned to me as we drifted helplessly towards the stern of the ship and asked:
"Sergeant, do you think there is any hope for us?"
"I replied, 'No,' seeing myself our helplessness without oars and the sinking condition of the stern of the ship. A few seconds later we were drawn into the whirlpool of the submerged afterdeck, and the last I saw of the nursing sisters was as they were thrown over the side of the boat."

Rix Gins

Quote from: WOTR on June 27, 2018, 09:16:53 PM
Nice to see that you beat me to it.  I had the Llandovery Castle webpage up for the last week reminding me to post it today.  From Wikipedia (though I'm sure you have already read it, I figure there may others who have not...)

""Unflinchingly and calmly, as steady and collected as if on parade, without a complaint or a single sign of emotion, our fourteen devoted nursing sisters faced the terrible ordeal of certain death--only a matter of minutes--as our lifeboat neared that mad whirlpool of waters where all human power was helpless.
I estimate we were together in the boat about eight minutes. In that whole time I did not hear a complaint or murmur from one of the sisters. There was not a cry for help or any outward evidence of fear. In the entire time I overheard only one remark when the matron, Nursing Matron Margaret Marjory Fraser, turned to me as we drifted helplessly towards the stern of the ship and asked
"Sergeant, do you think there is any hope for us?"
"I replied, 'No,' seeing myself our helplessness without oars and the sinking condition of the stern of the ship. A few seconds later we were drawn into the whirlpool of the submerged afterdeck, and the last I saw of the nursing sisters was as they were thrown over the side of the boat."

Very sad, and galling that the Germans responsible for shooting into most the life rafts got off scotch free.  I could have gone for those nurses had I been a young soldier back then.  Especially Minnie at the top or Evelyn down at the bottom.

Rix Gins

From the Imperial War Museum, June 28, 1918.



QuoteThe Wagon Depot at Oissel under construction, 28 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205246060 © IWM (Q 10358)


QuoteConstruction work on the Wagon Depot at Oissel, 28 June 1918.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205246054 © IWM (Q 10352)


R.I.P.


QuoteLieutenant Harold Francis Amboor Keating. Unit: 210th Field Company, Royal Engineers. Death: 28 June 1918 Western Front. Only son of Francis Amboor Keating and Constance Mary Keating.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205302241 © IWM (HU 123368)

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