'Wounded but Happy'

A photograph of wounded 'Tommies' in the grounds of The Royal London Hospital. The inscription reads: 'Wounded but Happy.'

Image Courtesy of Royal London Hospital Archives.

Soldiers in the Square.

This is one of a series of photographs that depict wounded servicemen enjoying the sunshine in the square at St Bartholomew'۪s Hospital.

Image Courtesy of St Bartholomew's Hospital Archives.

Postcard of Royal Army Medical Corps Training Camp.

The postcard shows the London Hospital Tennis Courts in around August or September 1914. The picture depicts the tennis courts being used as a training area for the RAMC. The inscription on the back of this postcard reads: 'Camp in Garden where men (House men and Students) begin R.A.M.C training under Rutherford, now in prison.'

Image Courtesy of Royal London Hospital Archives.

Postcard of the Square looking South West.

The postcard depicts recovering soldiers outside in St Bartholomew's Square. The soldiers can be seen to be milling around, socialising and enjoying the day.

Image Courtesy of St Bartholomew's Hospital Archives.

Postcard of Recovering Soldiers in St Bartholomew's Square.

A group of soldiers in uniform sitting in deckchairs in the Square in St Bartholomew'۪s Hospital.

Image Courtesy of St Bartholomew's Hospital Archives.

Collection of 'How To' letters, c.1918.

Typed letters belonging to A.M. Grenfell giving explanatory notes about the advance guard, rear guard, reconnaissance, musketry and horse grooming. Extracts include: reconnaissance notes that 'information regarding the enemy'۪s dispositions and the features of the country is absolutely essential for success in war'. Rear Guard notes that 'the conduct of a rear guard depends for its success almost entirely on the character, determination, skill, and energy displayed by its commander'.

Click on the link above to download the transcribed 'How to' letters. PDF's may take a while to download depending on the speed of your internet connection.

Images Courtesy of Queen Mary University of London Archives.

A letter from Francis Grenfell addressed to his family, 1914.

Written whilst in hospital it describes recent military engagements and his injuries. Francis Grenfell wrote numerous letters and kept accounts of the military engagements he was involved in and his day-to-day life whilst serving in the First World War, until his death in 1915.

Click on the link above to download the transcript of the letter. PDF's may take a while to download depending on the speed of your internet connection.

Image Courtesy of Queen Mary University of London Archives.

Humpty Dumpty, nursery rhyme reworked for propaganda purposes, 1914-1918.

Rhyme accompanying the caricature:

'Humpty Dumpty hammered the Gaul -
Humpty Dumpty had a big fall;
All the King's horses and all the King's men
Can't take Kaiser Billy to Paris again!'

Image Courtesy of Queen Mary University of London Archives.

East London College Magazine.

East London College Magazine was the student magazine and continued throughout the First World War. The regular features of news from the college, poems, stories, jokes, sketches, cartoons, and reports from union societies, continued. But the roll of service became a new regular feature, reporting the fate of fellow students to their friends.

Click on the links above to view individual pages of the College Magazine. PDF's may take a while to download depending on the speed of your internet connection. 

Image Courtesy of Queen Mary University of London Archives.

Photograph of a Belgian refugee family, c.1914-1918.

The photograph depicts a family of four Belgian refugees who were harboured by the Lyttelton family. In 1914 Belgium asserted its neutrality under international treaty and Britain promised to defend this. However, after refusing to give permission to Germany to cross Belgian territory in order to reach France, Germany declared war on Belgium and invaded the country. Over 1 million refugees fled the country over the coming weeks, mostly to the Netherlands but also to France and Britain.

Image Courtesy of Queen Mary University of London Archives.