‘Tis the season for treasure hunting

Here in the UK, this time of the year is called autumn, which for most of you guys is the fall, signaling the fact that things are gradually slowing down, with some places already closing for the winter season. For example, organizations such as English Heritage, which manages and maintains over 350 historical sites, including castles, closes the doors to these places until Easter arrives. Other locations which host events and military vehicle shows, along with private museums, are also closing. Never fear, however, there is still plenty to keep military enthusiasts occupied over the winter months — namely, lots of militaria fairs for collectors.

Some militaria collectors actually look forward to the quiet months of autumn and winter because they can concentrate on collecting without worrying about missing a show or other event. Myself, I enjoy the break from the rounds of shows and I get a chance to sort out bits and pieces I have picked up over the summer months. Included among the items I collect are military photographs, paperwork such as personal letters, and diaries. Recently, I picked up a few new items.

When I visit a militaria fair, any box or tin containing photographs acts like a magnet and draws me to it, as do piles of loose papers. Once example was my chance find about the Charioteer tank recently. Walking between traders’ stands at a sale in Dorchester, Dorset, I stopped to look through some papers and spotted some photographs, one of which I recognized to be a bizarre device called a “Panjandrum”. It’s a huge circular structure, looking like two giant wagon wheels joined together on either end of a cylinder containing an explosive charge. Propelled by cordite rockets, the device was unguided and meant to be released towards enemy emplacements during an amphibious landing. The whole thing was fantastical and turned out to be an enormous failure. For those who have never heard of the Panjandrum, it is worth looking it up on the Internet. It cost only a couple of pounds, and I just had to have it in my collection.

Moving along the stands I came across another pile of photographs. An image of British soldiers standing informally by a wooden hut, probably somewhere in England during the war, caught my attention — not because it was particularly unusual, but because of its relaxed pose between friends in wartime. I chanced on another couple of images, one of which showed a driver in a Jeep in the Middle East, and the other with a helpful caption on the reverse stating “British War Cemetery, Jerusalem, in September 1941”. Each of these is interesting in its own way, but rather sad, because the people in the images are unknown, as are their fates.

My real prize, though, was a monochrome image showing two young girls seated, listening to a radio set using a shared headset. It was charming and I decided I just had to buy it. Job done, I returned home with my purchase and, as with all my other photographs, I scanned it into my computer to allow me to inspect it more closely. On the reverse was a type-written editor’s note complete with a caption and details of the girls. Dated February 1943, it was headed “Twins Head For Army Radio Jobs”. The caption continued: “Any question in electricity and radio can be answered in unison by Martha (left) and Mary Joyce, 19-year-old identical twins from Bell Buckle, Tennessee, who are among 50 women and girls studying all about condensers, watt meters and voltmeters in a 24-weeks course at the Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland. From there they go on to jobs with the US Army Signals Corps in the Aircraft Radio Laboratory at Wright Field, Ohio”.

It was not a lot to go on, but with the power of the Internet, I was able to build up more information about the girls in the photograph. After typing in their names as key words, one of the first things to appear was a newspaper clipping dated Feb. 6, 1943 and published in Cleveland. The editor’s note credited the photographer as Sigrid Arne, which turned out to be the pen name used by Sigrid Holmquist, a female Swedish-American journalist, who joined the ranks of The Associated Press in 1941 as a roving reporter. Research revealed that Sigrid had died in 1973, but during the war her work took her across America, including Oklahoma, Detroit and Cleveland, where she photographed the Joyce twins as part of a feature titled “Girl Radio Students”.

Working backwards using the girls’ age and date, it was possible to work out the Joyce twins were born circa 1924. I contacted a colleague in America and he did some research on my behalf and discovered the sisters were both dead, but still had family living in Bell Buckle. I have written to another point of contact and I’m awaiting a reply. This is a story on which I will keep you update. Why would such a photograph should turn up in Britain? What I have concluded is that at some time the image must have been brought over to the UK from America and entered circulation in the UK militaria market place. The detective work goes on.

My final new purchase of the day was a soldier’s service pay book which once belonged to Sergeant Roy James Harbord, service number 2581233, serving with the Corps of Royal Signals. The rather battered little book contains all sorts of personal details of the man, description, place of birth, address and parents. His service details include his promotion, inoculation for serving in the Middle East, for which he was awarded the Africa Star medal, courses he attended and his final date of discharge. This is another piece of detective work I shall undertake, but I think I’ll keep that on file until I have discovered more about the Joyce sisters and completed their story.

It’s these little pieces of personal history which do not appear in formal histories of the war that I find fascinating. They give an insight into what ordinary people were doing, just like millions of others at the time. It’s just a pity the photos of my British soldiers do not have any names to go on, but, then, you can’t have everything.

Fortunately I am kept well informed of the dates of militaria fairs, of which there are plenty to choose from every week, and association meetings of enthusiasts which will keep me busy through the long, dark winter months ahead. Also, I have several good books to tuck into, one of which is Vietnam; An Epic Tragedy 1945-1975 by Max Hastings, who has written many terrific histories, including Overlord, a title which says everything about the subject.

In the meantime, if I come across any more interesting finds I will be sure to let you know about them.