Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1543

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

0.3 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Ronald Beck scrapbook of Royal Air Force service and travel memorabilia, 1942-1969, Ms. Coll. 1543, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania.

Date:

1942-1969 (inclusive)

Creator:

Beck, George Ronald Kinloch, 1907-1993

Form:

Correspondence, Photographs, Scrapbooks, and Memorabilia

Abstract:

George Ronald Kinloch Beck (1907-1993) was an officer in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. This scrapbook contains about 20 pages of photographs, correspondence, clippings, and other memorabilia that documents his military service from 1942 to 1945. Another 49 pages of photographs, photographic post cards, maps, itineraries, and brochures, document trips to Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, and Africa, from 1955 to 1969.

George Ronald Kinloch Beck (1907-1993) was an officer in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He was born in Chester, England, in early 1907 to James Beck and M.H.K. Beck. Little is known about George Beck's life beyond what can be gleaned from his wartime service and a few trips to Europe and Africa that he took later in his life. In the Royal Air Force, he achieved the rank of Squadron Leader and worked primarily in operations. Earlier in the war he was stationed in England, but following D-Day, he appears to have been stationed initially in France and then northern Italy, as part of "No. 1, M.O.R.U." or Mobile Operations Room Unit. He kept a variety of letters from servicemen that expressed appreciation for how well he looked after them during their time with him. Following the war, Beck travelled to Switzerland in 1955 for a ski vacation. Later in 1955 or 1956, he travelled to France, Italy, and Spain, in what appears to be a typical tourist holiday. Finally, in 1969 he travelled to Kenya and Tanzania for a safari style excursion. George Beck died in November, 1993, in Shropshire, England.

This scrapbook documents George Beck's time as an officer in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, but also contains material from trips he took later in his life. About 20 pages of photographs, correspondence, clippings, and other memorabilia document his military service from 1942 to 1945. Another 49 pages of photographs, photographic post cards, maps, itineraries, and brochures document trips to Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, and Africa, from 1955 to 1969. A significant gap of blank pages separates the Second World War material from his later trips. Most pages are in good condition, but some material has come loose and has been placed in a separate folder. There is evidence that other original material that came loose may have been lost.