The Great War Picture Postcards 1914-1918 is our blog post topic because today marks 100 years since The Battle of the Somme began on July 1, 1916. It is with awe that I came across a web site that shares collected picture postcards of the Great War from 1914-1918. My Grandfather was drafted in WWI and was stationed in France serving in the Army Infantry.
I’ve included a link to a BBC News article today on “Battle of the Somme: Queen leads centenary remembrance events”.
Picture Postcards from the Great War 1914-1918
There is a treasure trove of World War I picture postcards by Tony Allen who lives in the UK.
“This website was created to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War 1914-1918.”
“The story behind a First World War Postcard” contains “The ‘List'”; most noteworthy it links to 27 different WWI postcards. There are a “number of original First World War publications as ebooks available”. The site does accept PayPal.
At the Links page it includes many links. First there is the Picture Postcard Monthly magazine, and then The Great War magazine. There is a link to Blind Veterans UK. Also, there is a link to a site devoted entirely to postcards featuring ww1 Prisoners of War. In addition, there is a link to Collecting British Army Postcards. Especially relevant is a link to famous battlefield guides produced and published by “the renowned Major and Mrs Holt”. Furthermore the guides are “splendid companions for anyone planning a tour of the Somme battlefield.”
Be sure to read the ww1 Poetry and Verse on Postcards.
Tommy’s Mail & the Army Post Office
At the above website, there is an article on Tommy’s Mail & the Army Post Office by Tony Allen; it has a very long detailed page on ww1 postal history. It is definitely worth looking over when you have some time to pour through it.
The article includes details of
- The Secret Language of Stamps,
- Mail arriving on the Continent,
- Parcels from Home,
- Branded Writing Paper and Envelopes,
- A Field Post Office,
- The Unit Mail Censor,
- and much more including three publications to refer
BBC News article on 100 years since “The Battle of the Somme”
The BBC.com News website has an article that continues to get updates as the day unfolds, and is solemn and poignant.
This is a link to article and it includes video from event today – “Battle of the Somme: Queen leads centenary remembrance events”.
“The Queen has led events to mark 100 years since the Battle of the Somme, as overnight vigils got under way on the eve of the anniversary. … At a vigil in France the Duke of Cambridge paid tribute to the fallen soldiers saying “we lost the flower of a generation”. On Friday at 07:28 BST a two-minute silence will mark the battle’s start. ... The Battle of the Somme, one of WW1’s bloodiest, was fought in northern France and lasted five months. … In total, there were more than one million dead and wounded on all sides.”
My Grandfather
Finally, as I recall my Dad did not have many details from his father-in-law’s WWI service as he “would get very quiet when asked about his time served during the Great War”. I remember my Dad sharing that my Grandfather was a wonderful quiet man who loved the outdoors. Although my Grandfather passed away before I was ever born, I’m grateful for the stories that have survived about him.
Almost 20 years ago found me on the phone for several evenings with Dad recalling family stories to me; he personally knew my Grandfather. We were on the phone capturing family stories to include in a family heritage scrapbook I was creating. There is the story about how my Grandfather met my Grandmother before the War and upon returning they got married in 1919. Included in the scrapbook is a August 2, 1921 postcard from Montana with a photo of them. These stories and postcard continue to be remembered in that cherished family heritage scrapbook.
Thank you for joining me today for my blog post on Great War Picture Postcards 1914-1918. In conclusion, I’m hoping we will continue to make time to write down our family history stories.
Anchors Aweigh,
Helen
Great War Picture Postcards 1914-1918 Attribution
& Thank you to those referenced today
Picture Postcards from the Great War 1914-1918 – Excerpt and Image above upper left from Tommy’s Mail & the Army Post Office and ww1 Poetry and Verse on Postcards – both by Tony Allen
BBC.com News website “Battle of the Somme: Queen leads centenary remembrance events” July 01, 2016, Excerpt as of 1:00 AM Eastern
