PostCards from the Front

BRSC and Order of St John Workers Attending Wounded on their Arrival at Boulogne Station

Navigation Button Bar

Albert Chapman was a devout and committed Christian who at the outbreak of the First World War faced a moral dilemma, should he fight in the name of his country, or should he follow his Christian teachings not to harm his fellow man? I believe that he made a compromise between these two choices. His story comes in the form of postcards, photographs and diaries, for one of the most tragic periods in recent history.

From 1915 until the end of the First World War, Albert Chapman served on the Western Front as a member of the 27th Field Ambulance in the Royal Army Medical Corps attached to 9th (Scottish) Division.
Despite doubtless witnessing some grim sights and being exposed to the hazards of warfare, he managed to retain his optimism, equilibrium and personal faith. He came home to England, married, and beget two daughters. I married one of his granddaughters but sadly never met the man.

Only a selection of the postcards have been displayed on these pages but a full set at high resolution can be found here .

Incidentally, most of the postcards in this collection have the placenames defaced with a lead pencil. I presume that this constituted adequate censorship, should they fall into enemy hands don't-you-know... Some of the cards have been much more effectively censored, the placenames have been cut off!

Extensive details of the time covered in these pages are available as a series of interviews by Private Cook made in 1986 at the IWM and available here.

peter_jennings @ hotmail.com