Codford Y.M.C.A. Reading Lounge (1917)

Item Information

Title:
Codford Y.M.C.A. Reading Lounge (1917)
Description:
This lantern slide, “Codford Y.M.C.A. Reading Lounge (1917),” shows the empty reading room at the Codford Australian Y.M.C.A. The room is empty and all the chairs are arranged facing a dining room table with a vase of flowers as the centerpiece. Behind the table is a screen with the words, “Austral Theatre.”
Creator:
The Commercial Photographic Co
Date:
1917
Format:
Photographs
Location:
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Collection (local):
College Archives Digital Collections
Series:
Lantern Slide Collection
Subjects:
World War, 1914-1918
International Young Men's Christian Association
Lantern slides
Tables
Chairs
Wicker furniture
Extent:
3.25x3.25 in
Link to Item:
http://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15370coll2/id/3024
Terms of Use:
Text and images are owned, held, or licensed by Springfield College and are available for personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that ownership is properly cited. A credit line is required and should read: Courtesy of Springfield College, Babson Library, Archives and Special Collections. Any commercial use without written permission from Springfield College is strictly prohibited. Other individuals or entities other than, and in addition to, Springfield College may also own copyrights and other propriety rights. The publishing, exhibiting, or broadcasting party assumes all responsibility for clearing reproduction rights and for any infringement of United States copyright law.
Contact host institution for more information.
Publisher:
Springfield College
Language:
English
Notes:
When wounded soldiers were sufficiently recovered to leave nearby hospitals, they were sent to Codford to be “hardened” for further active service training. Established in Salisbury Plains, Codford Camp was not popular among the soldiers. Early in 1918, the number of men accommodated at Codford rose to 3,200. To control and administer the depot there was a commanding officer, a second in command and adjutant, a quartermaster and supply officer, ten combatant officers, and an A.P.M., four medical, and five dental officers. Training was controlled by the commanding officer, advised by the senior medical officer and the sergeant-major of the Army gymnastic staff. The men were divided into three classes—A, B, and C. Upon entering camp a soldier was graded B3 and was given very light work—potato picking or a little digging. As he grew stronger he became B2 and was allotted route marches of from four to six miles a day, with a certain amount of bayonet fighting and physical exercise. Then he reached the B1 stage and was given a stiffer course of physical training and bayonet fighting, and his route march was prolonged to eight or ten miles a day. If all went well he was classified A, when he should do his fourteen miles a day, and was then sent on to his reserve unit as fit. Classification of the men was held once a week by the medical men. A number of men passing through the depot were found not to be fit enough to proceed to the trenches again, and of these many went to France to swell the ranks of the Divisional Employment Company—men fit to do base duties but not to undertake general-service work. This slide is part of Springfield College's collection of lantern slides depicting scenes of World War I.
Minor deterioration around top edge; Text on border reads, "Codford Aust Y.M.C.A. Reading Lounge; Australian Y.M.C.A. Historical Record Section."
Part of the Australian Y.M.C.A. WWI Lantern Slide Series
Identifier:
LS-05-72