Lemon Squeezy

I contacted the Great War Archive at Oxford University about the autograph book and the Military Historian, Everett Sharp said this:

Thank you for letting us see the autograph book.

There are several like books in our archive and can be viewed by inserting autograph book and clicking The Great War Archive button.

We have no way of knowing just how many exist and each contain a wealth of detail of great interest to historians both military and social.

For example if I just take two of the illustrations you have put on your blog:
1) The image of Britannia between two soldiers dated Dec 1914.
Britain struggled to arm it's new volunteers and resorted to training them with weapons associated with an earlier period, hence both are carrying the Lee-Metford of Boer War vintage. However at this period uniforms were still available and the soldier is wearing the 'bus conductors' hat. If this had been drawn in 1915 even earlier weapons and uniforms were issued to those in training. See here and my comments.

2) The cartoon showing the 'weeding out' of hospital staff dated December 1916 not only shows the jaundiced attitude of the front line soldier personified by the smart handsome looking young man making the comment to those behind the lines personified in this drawing as the rather unfit and shambling ("a real bloody shambles"?) but their uniform detail. More importantly it is also a 'Tommy's view of the problems Britain was having keeping its army up to strength. This is dated a month after the Somme had been 'closed' by Haig with it's enormous loss of manpower but also 11 months after the introduction of Conscription in January 1916.

I could go on. Each is a treasure trove and please, treat yours as such. If you have any more questions please contact us again.

Then today he sent this:

Something bothered me about the cartoon..the hat worn by the chap to the right of the speaker....have another look.

Upon reflection this is an early drawing of a New Zealander in his 'Lemon Squeezer' distinctive hat shape. NZ infantry first went into battle on the Somme in September 1916.

Fascinating, forensic delving; love it.