Description
Object description
British seaman served with Drake Bn, Royal Naval Division in Gallipoli and on Western Front, 1915-1917; POW in Germany, 1917-1918
Content description
REEL 1: Aspects of period in GB, 1914: story of enlistment with Royal Naval Division at HMS Calliope, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 8/1914; civilian employment; reason for enlisting; canteen facilities aboard ship; posted to Royal Naval Division at Crystal Palace, London. Aspects of training with Royal Naval Division in GB, 9/1914-2/1915: amusing story of hanging hat on statue; posted to Dorset Camp; story of visit by Winston Churchill; description of basic training; memories of other recruits; story of fight with Scottish soldier about kilt; description of voyage aboard RMS Franconia to Egypt, 2/1915: opinion of accommodation and food; disembarked at Port Said. Aspects of operations with Drake Bn, Royal Naval Division in Egypt and Greece, 3-4/1915: moved into camp at Kantara; bathed in Suez Canal; weather conditions in desert; sailed to Mudros, Greece; story of diving off deck of ship. Aspects of operations with Drake Bn, Royal Naval Division in Gallipoli, 4/1915-1916: role of Drake Bn as diversion for main landings; description of landing, 26/Apr/1915; duties burying dead; opinion of Military Police; description of British wounded in trench; problem of being mistaken for Turks due to headgear; volunteered for ration party; attitude to medals; reception on returning to beach with rations and water; story of sergeant defecating from fear before attack; volunteered as sniper; description of attack and casualties; story of soldier being injured while moving wounded Turk; attitude to fear; story of singing to French soldiers in dugout; description of night march with officer.
REEL 2 Continues: problem of officer choosing wrong location for trench; story of soldier shooting self in foot; opinion of Sir Ian Hamilton; moved to base camp; punishment of 14 days fatigues clearing up after horses; description of front line trenches; story of soldier killed by dum-dum bullet in head; story of attempting to help wounded soldier known as 'Sambo'; further description of landing on beach; opinion of Dardanelles campaign; memories of Turkish prisoners; story of taking field glasses from dead Turkish officer; problem of water shortage and poisoned wells; opinion of rations; further comments on Gallipoli campaign; reaction to death of Lord Kitchener; opinion of Churchill; various memories of friends.
REEL 3 Continues: problem of dysentery and use of castor oil; opinion of success of Gallipoli campaign; story of winning at brag; reason for buying cheese; opinion of Horatio Bottomley's 'John Bull' paper; bagging up rations; description of Turkish shelling and rifle fire; attitude to death; description of equipment and ammunition carried during landing; further comments on landing, advance from beach and voyage aboard RMS Franconia to Egypt; story of using pages from Bible to roll cigarettes; won silver medal with boxing team; post-war service in Ireland and question of joining Black and Tans.
REEL 4 Continues: disciplinary record and punishments; final days on Gallipoli; attitude to taking souvenirs from dead; story of finding unmarked bodies in gulley; role as sniper; evacuated aboard HMS Bulldog to Mudros and sailed to Marseilles, France; story of saving two soldiers from drowning in water tank. Aspects of operations with Drake Bn, Royal Naval Division on Western Front, 1916-1917: story of trying to sell French boots; story of officers disappearing on Vimy Ridge; story of borrowing ten francs from Jewish officer; repetition of previous material; first time in action on Vimy Ridge; story of cutting free two soldiers tied to wheels of GS wagon; opinion of officers; story about German prisoners on the Somme; moved to Arras sector, 1917; description of dugouts; rotation in and out of trenches; story of delivering dispatch to HQ; rum ration; description of being shot in leg; story of being taken prisoner. Aspects of period as POW in Germany, 1917-1918: description of frost bite in feet and treatment by German doctor.
REEL 5 Continues: opinion of Germans; story about German with glass eye; duties as cook for POWs; billet in barn; story of POWs singing in harmony and reaction of Germans; sings song about Tickler's jam; opinion of food; story of escape from camp and recapture; punishment for escape attempt; problem of lack of food; medical treatment for sores caused by wearing paper trousers; problem of Germans stealing prisoners' parcels; opinion of nurses in camp hospital; story about German in camp hospital at Christmas, 1917; story of showing sentry how to use rifle; physical condition. Further aspects of operations with Drake Bn, Royal Naval Division in Gallipoli and on Western Front, 1915-1917: story of being jailed for 28 days on Mudros, Greece; story of killing and eating turkey; opinion of rations; story of getting drunk on rum and punishment; description of soldier being blown to pieces by shell on Somme; reflections on war. Various memories of childhood in Gateshead. Story of pawning medals after war.
The word “sambo” was historically used to refer to people of African and Amerindian ancestry and more recently used as a racial slur used towards Black people in America.
Helen Bannerman published the illustrated children’s book The Story of Little Black Sambo in 1899 and it was an immediate success in England and America. The book’s success led to many unauthorised versions in America, which used new illustrations that contained racist caricatures of Little Black Sambo, his mother (Black Mumbo) and his father (Black Jumbo).
