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File:Fred C Palmer equestrian portrait WWI.jpg

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Original file (3,342 × 2,138 pixels, file size: 5.25 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

Description

Postcard photo of Lance Corporal A. K. Croker of the Lancashire Hussars in 1915 during World War I. The postcard is postmarked Canterbury 3 February 1915. Croker has written a note on the back with the same date and Canterbury location, saying he had been stationed in Canterbury since October 1914. It is addressed to Miss Milly Taylor of Bolton, Lancashire.

Croker is listed on the Manchester Employers Roll of Honour 1914-1916, in relation to Robert Spencer & Nephews company (source: Manchester & Lancs Family History Society). He was born in 1891 in Drypool, Hull, and at the age of 20 yrs in 1911 he was a boilermaker apprentice. He was the second eldest of 10 children of T. Croker, a boilermaker from Plymouth. (source: Census 1911, Sculcoates). His regiment was 1st Lancashire Hussars Yeomanry, and details of its WW1 action are here. The regiment was based in Kent from August 1914 to November 1918, then transferred to Salisbury Plain, Egypt and France.

A document which may refer to Croker is a form kept in the Infantry Records, Preston, showing decorations granted under Order 20 in 1919, for the 18th Bn The Manchester Regiment. It shows Private A. Croker 10630, killed in action 1st July 1916. (Source Ancestry.co.uk)

Note: the subject is not related to, or known to, the uploader of this photograph. He is a subject of general historical research on the grounds that those who served in, or died in battle in WW1, are of interest to the public.

The photographer was Fred C. Palmer of Tower Studio, Herne Bay, Kent (as printed on the back of the card). He lived there 1903-1922, and is believed to have died 1936-1939. The soldiers based closest to Palmer's studio in 1914-1915 were The Buffs, (East Kent Regiment), which raised nine battalions in World War I. (Today the Buffs are amalgamated into the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.)

Points of interest
  • The ink is smudged perhaps due to rain or damp storage conditions, or perhaps due to tears as many men were lost in that war.
  • The barracks in the background may be the Canterbury barracks formerly occupied by the Buffs.
  • The horse has a hunting cut, intended to facilitate the removal of mud from the underbelly.

Border

The remaining border of this image is important for researchers of this photographer. Some photographers trimmed their images more than others, and Palmer has a reputation for producing smaller postcards than other early 20th century UK photographers. He took his own photos, developed them in-house onto postcard-backed photographic paper and trimmed them himself. It is worth adding that during hand-developing the border is actively masked with equipment which both crops the picture and causes the white frame or border to appear on the paper. This frame is part of the design and is one of the reasons why the quality of Palmer's work is so interesting, and why there is an article and category for him on English Wiki. Researchers need to see exactly where the edge of the postcard is. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Date Postmarked 1915
Source Scan of original postcard in my possession
Author
Frederick Christian Palmer  (1866–1941)  wikidata:Q5497540
 
Alternative names
F.C. Palmer, Fred Palmer
Description British photographer
Date of birth/death 9 January 1866 Edit this at Wikidata 14 March 1941 Edit this at Wikidata
Location of birth/death East Stonehouse Manor Edit this at Wikidata Hungerford Edit this at Wikidata
Authority file
creator QS:P170,Q5497540
Permission
(Reusing this file)		 out of copyright
This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason:
Public domain

This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or fewer.

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1929.

This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.
The official position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation is that "faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain".
This photographic reproduction is therefore also considered to be in the public domain in the United States. In other jurisdictions, re-use of this content may be restricted; see Reuse of PD-Art photographs for details.

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Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current11:19, 1 November 2011Thumbnail for version as of 11:19, 1 November 20113,342 × 2,138 (5.25 MB)Storye book{{Information |Description= Postcard photo of Lance Corporal A. K. Croker of the Lancashire Hussars in 1915 during World War I. The postcard is postmarked Canterbury 3 February 1915. Croker has written a note on the back with the same date and Canterbury
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fred_C_Palmer_equestrian_portrait_WWI.jpg"