Edward James France World War I photograph album, ca. 1915-1919, together with photographs of the Plymouth Blitz, ca. 1941

PXB 1735

fonds

ca. 1915-1919, ca. 1941

Graphic Materials, Photographs

9586035

140 photographs (1 album) - gelatin silver
6 photographs - 11 x 16.5 cm - gelatin silver

Edward James France enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in September 1915 at the age of 20 and embarked from Sydney in November of that year. He served as a gunner with the 5th Field Artillery Brigade in France and Belgium and was promoted to bombardier in January 1917. He was wounded in action in Belgium, transferred to England in October 1917 to recover and returned to active duty in France in April 1918. In April 1919 he returned to Australia. During World War II he served in Australia in the Citizen Military Forces and was discharged with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

Reference:
Library correspondence file

Photograph album with red buckram cover, partly detached, containing 140 gelatin silver photographs each 6.9 x 9 cm or smaller. All photographs are captioned in ink, possibly transcribed from original captions on the reverse. The album was compiled by Edward James France, who may also have been the photographer.

The photographs document the progress of the 5th Australian Field Artillery Brigade in Belgium and France from 1915 to 1919 and include images of German and Allied soldiers, prisoners, battlefields, villages, war damage, cemeteries and memorials. Locations include Charleroi, Liège, Lille, Mons, Tournai, Armentières, Bailleul, Albert, Pozières, the Butte de Warlencourt, Flers, Amiens, Hénencourt, Querrieu, Glisy and Villers-Bretonneux.

Also included are six loose photographs of Plymouth, showing damaged buildings and rubble in the aftermath of the 1941 Plymouth Blitz air raids. On the reverse of each photograph is a 'Western Morning News Co., Ltd, Plymouth' stamp.

Out of copyright: Created before 1955
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales