Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1735

Repository:

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

Extent:

.33 linear feet (1 box)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Reginald Edward Hawkins photograph album and scrapbook of the Royal Air Force No. 1 Armoured Car Company and the Middle East, 1920-1924, Ms. Coll. 1735, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1920-1924 (inclusive)

Creator:

Hawkins, Reginald Edward, 1902-1987

Form:

Photograph albums, Photographs, and Photographic postcards

Abstract:

This volume of photographs and postcards documents the military career of Reginald Edward Hawkins (1902-1987), a Royal Air Force airman who served in No. 1 Armoured Car Company in Palestine from 1922 to 1923. The volume also contains photographs and postcards from Hawkins's training at Halton Camp in 1920 and there are postcards from the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, some dating as late as 1924.

Reginald Edward Hawkins was born in Surrey, England, on April 6, 1902, the son of Samuel (d. 1905) and Eliza (b. around 1868 and d. around 1959) Hawkins. It appears that Reginald Edward Hawkins began his service to the Royal Air Force as an airman on April 6, 1920. He probably trained at Halton Camp before being shipped to Palestine as a member of the No. 1, Armoured Car Company, part of Britain's Royal Air Force that was based in the Middle East following World War I. No. 1 Armoured Car Company (1 ACC) was established at the Royal Air Force station, Heliopolis, just outside Cairo, on December 19, 1921. 1 ACC moved to Palestine in May of 1922 and were there until December 1, 1923 when it was absorbed into No. 2 Armoured Car Company. Hawkins appears to have been in the RAF until around 1924. In 1926, he was employed as an auxiliary postman in the Postal Service in Watford. He died in 1987.

Hawkins's mother, Eliza, was born around 1868 and married Samuel Hawkins, who died in 1905. Following his death, she lived in Watford as a boarder with the Russell family, who may have been extended family. Roughly half the album is made up of postcards and pictures that may have been cut from magazines; almost all the postcards are blank; but those that are written on are addressed to Eliza and sent by Lily Allen; nieces May, [Adah], and Daisy; and her son Reg. Hawkins probably died around 1959.

This album consists of photographs and postcards of an RAF airman who served with the No. 1 Armoured Car Company (1 ACC) in the early 1920s. Although the airman is not identified explicitly in any image, research indicates that this album documents the experiences of Reginald Edward Hawkins (1902-1987). It seems that he may have started the album; but it is possible that his mother, Eliza Hawkins, added postcards and other images cut from magazine or publications to the album.

Pages 1-33 appear to have been created by Reginald Hawkins. These photographs are captioned and roughly follow chronological order from October 1922 to 1923. These images largely document camp life and the experiences of the 1 ACC, with images of airmen often identified by last name only; sites seen during travels, such as Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Cairo; armored cars and airplanes; weddings; horse shows; animals and pets; and people native to the Middle East. Many of the photographs are very faded.

On page 34, there is a photograph of "Jim Hawkins and family" and on page 39, there is a photograph with the description "Mother, me, Reg, [illegible] Russell, George Allen, Lily Allen." The remainder of the album is not in chronological order and contains images from 1920 to at least 1924. Other than the images that appear to have been placed by Reginald Hawkins, there are few captions or identifying information provided by the creator of the album.

Pages 35-64 include postcards, mostly blank, commercially available, and purchased postcards; but also a few real photo postcards. The postcards are largely of scenes from the Middle East and Africa, including Aden, Cairo, Ismailia, Jaffa, Jericho, Jerusalem, Kantarah, Mount Tabor, Nazareth, Omar, and the Suez Canal. There are also some postcards from Malta, Sri Lanka, France, and England. Any postcard that was actually sent, was addressed to Mrs. [Eliza] Hawkins at 76 Fearnley Street in Watford and sent by her son, Reginald, as well as a number of nieces (Daisy, May, and [Adah]), and Lily Allen.

On pages 25, 48, 49, and 75-77, there are postcards and photographs of Halton Park Camp, an RAF station in England where Reginald probably received his training in 1920 to 1921. Page 54 includes a group photograph of the 1 ACC and page 56 includes a number of real photo postcards of an unidentified armored car company (presumably 1 ACC). Ludd Hospital patients appear on pages 9 and 55. There are portraits of airman, mostly identified only by first name on pages 65, 73, and 75-77.

These images are contained within an album that was designed to sell Christmas cards, with a front cover title: "The Classic Series: Private Christmas Cards." On the inside front cover and flyleaves, there are instructions for selecting and purchasing the cards. Photographs were inserted into the pre-cut slots designed to hold cards with the ordering information contained below each card location. There is evidence of missing photographs that probably slipped from their slots and were lost or removed. Pages 44-47, 67-71, and 78-82 are blank.