Guide to archive material on the First World War held at the Barking and Dagenham Archives and Local Studies Centre To access any of the material listed below, please email localstudies@lbbd.gov.uk or telephone 020 8227 2033 Last updated September 2014
Introduction This guide provides a list of archival papers and photographs directly relating to the servicemen, women and children that lived in Barking and Dagenham during the First World War held at the Barking and Dagenham Archive and Local Studies Centre. It also includes details of material on remembrance and the Barking War Memorial in Barking Park. Please note that we hold further material within the archive dating from this time that may be useful if you are researching the First World War, such as school records, rate books and minute books of local companies, such as Samuel Williams & Sons Ltd and Lawes Chemical Company. Moreover you might wish to consult our topic boxes, containing relevant newspaper cutting and other printed ephemera, with particular references to local servicemen awarded the Victoria Cross, which can be found on the open shelves in the Reading Room. For further information about the contents of any of the collections listed below or to enquire about visiting the reading room, please do not hesitate to contact a member of staff by email at localstudies@lbbd.gov.uk or telephoning 020 8227 2033. 2
Servicemen Memoir of Walter Perren, 1914-1917 Manuscript memoir, written by Walter Perren (1914-1917), recounting his experiences serving with the Middlesex Regiment 17th Battalion during the First World War. Includes descriptions of his enlistment in August 1914 and his training in Colchester, Essex, before embarking to Boulogne at the beginning of 1915. Also detailing his impressions of the battlefield, with particular references to being transported to the front in a cattle truck, the sound of exploding shells and the destruction of the surrounding towns and villages, as well as the action that he saw during the Battle of Loos (25 September-14 October 1915), the Third Battle of Ypres, often referred to as the Battle of Passchendaele (June-November 1917) and then the Battle of Caporetto in Italy (November- December 1917). The memoir ends abruptly in December 1917. Also with a scanned print of a photograph, showing Walter Perren in uniform with another soldier, Ken Rodgers. (Reference: BD163) Papers of Henry Sidney Williams, 1916-1924 Pocket diary, kept by Henry Sidney Williams of 'The Nook', Whalebone Grove, Chadwell Heath, during his serving with the 79th Siege Battery Royal Garrison Artillery in France (3 February-14 July 1917). Includes references to his life in the trenches and on the battlefield of the Western Front. (Reference: BD194) Photographs of James Alfred Acott, circa. 1918-1920 Photographs belonging to James Alfred Acott of 49 Westfield Road, Dagenham, taken during his military service in Palestine towards the end and then immediately after the First World War (circa. 1918-1920), shows him with fellow soldiers, military vehicles and encampments, as well as the local people and sites that he visited in Greece, Egypt and then Jerusalem in Israel. 1 envelope (Reference: BD171) Postcard sent to Mrs Summers from 'George' whilst on active service in Bonn, Germany, 1919 Postcard, showing Bonn University, sent to Mrs Summers, aka 'Chub', of Northcote, St. Chad s Road, Chadwell Heath from George whilst on active service in Bonn, Germany in the immediate aftermath of the First World War (23 June 1919). 1 item (Reference: ACQ2013/073) Papers of William Henry Snow, 1892-1917 This collection comprises a certificate of the registry of birth of William Henry Snow, who was born in Barking on 17 December 1891 (25 January 1892), together with a discharge certificate, providing details of his enlistment and his physical appearance on being deemed too physically unfit to continue his service with the Royal Field Artillery during the First World War (13 November 1917). 1 envelope (Reference: BD239) 3
Women Papers and photographs of Miss E. Mott, 1917 This collection comprises a typescript letter sent to Miss E. Mott, from the Secretary of the Auxiliary Hospital Joint V.A.D. Department, requesting her assistance as a Nursing Member at the National Cartridge and Box Repair Factory on Dagenham Dock (30 April 1917), an identity card issued to her by the Ministry of Munitions (3 June 1917) and a notice on working hours and conditions at the factory on Dagenham Dock (17 September 1917). Also includes three photographs, showing groups of munitions workers in uniform outside East Ham Town Hall, as well as twelve mounted photograph, with annotations, of female munitions workers and nurses, presumably collected by Nurse Mott, during her service at National Cartridge and Box Repair Factory on Dagenham Dock. Accompanied by research papers and notes on the history of the National Cartridge and Box Repair Factory during the First World War and the life of Miss E. Mott, collected by local historian, Bob Little. (Reference: BD189) Photograph album of Eleanor Underwood, circa. 1915-1925 Photograph album, with annotations, compiled by Eleanor Underwood (circa. 1915-1925), showing her with colleagues and patients, including men in uniform who possibly served in the First World War, taken during her time working as a nurse in Tunbridge Wells and then the Rush Green Isolation Hospital, interspersed with further photographs of her with family members and friends at home and on outings to Cheshunt and Clacton, Essex. Please note that a number of the photographs within this album appear to be missing. 1 bound volume (Reference: BD172) Photograph album of Gwen Shields, 1899-1923 Photograph album, with annotations, compiled by Gwen Shields (1889-1923), including portrait photographs of family members, some of the men are shown in military uniform and presumably served during the First World War. Also contains wedding and holiday photographs. 1 bound volume (Reference: BD104/1) Postcard of Maud Elliott of Barking, shown in her Post Office uniform holding letters and a satchel during the First World War, 1918 Includes the following inscription on the reverse of the postcard, written by her soon to be husband, Albert Elliot: 'Dear Joe, How would you like a nice girl to bring you letters like mine. Your loving brother, Albert'. 1 item (Reference: BD4/745) Children Memoir of W. L. Ward, 1906-1984 Photocopy of a manuscript memoir, written by Mr W. L Ward, recording his childhood and life in Barking between 1906 and 1955. Includes detailed descriptions throughout of local people, streets, 4
shops, public houses and industry, with particular references to his time at St. Ethelburga's Roman Catholic School and his experiences of growing up during the First World War. (Reference: BD192) Autobiography, entitled 'Reflective Glory', written by the Reverend John A. Fleetwood, circa. 1914-1978 Typescript autobiography, entitled 'Reflected Glory', written by the Reverend John A. Fleetwood in 1980, concerning his childhood during the First World War, his time studying at King's College London and his subsequent career as an Anglican Clergyman at St. Margaret's Church, Barking (1914-1978). 1 bound volume (Reference: BD54) Remembrance Funeral cards of William Arthur Simmonds, 1915-1918 Funeral card of William Arthur Simmonds of The Rangers 12th London Regiment, who was killed in action at St. Julien, France during the First World War (May 1915), and a further printed card in memory of the men that fell in the Great War (1914-1918). 1 envelope (Reference: BD203) Records on the Barking War Memorial of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, 1918-1992 This collection comprises files, containing correspondence, reports, invoices and notes on the erection and then later the re-opening of the First World War Memorial in Barking Park, compiled by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. 3 boxes (Reference: ACQ2012/191) Oral histories Oral history recording of an interview with Rose Smith by Sorcha Ni Fhoghludha, 2013 Rose Smith recollects of her life on the Becontree Estate during the 1920s and 1930s. Includes references to the experiences of her father during the First World War. 1 CD (Reference: BD5/39) Oral history recording of an interview with Betty Wright by Sorcha Ni Fhoghludha, 2013 Betty Wright recollects the experiences of her mother and father during the First World War and the growth of the Becontree Estate. 1 CD (Reference: BD5/40) Oral history recording of an interview with Tom Westwood by Sorcha Ni Fhoghludha, 2013 5
Tom Westwood speaks about his father's military service during the First World War, before going on to comment on his own childhood and memories of local people and places in Dagenham, as well as his experiences of evacuation on the outbreak of the Second World War. 1 CD (Reference: BD5/41) 6