Ideas For Your Dissertation! #2

Idea #2 The Baker Brown (Thomas) Archive

Subjects: History / Military History

TBB-1-3-1

GB186/TBB/1/3/1

This is fascinating collection of material relating to Thomas Baker Brown, born 22nd December 1896, a soldier who fought in World War I and was taken prisoner of war in Germany in 1918. The collection predominantly comprises of the private letters from Thomas Baker Brown to his family at home in North Shields while he underwent his training in York, and then while he served as a soldier in France. His correspondence describes his training, exercises and daily routines as well as conditions in the trenches. Also included is the correspondence between Thomas Baker Brown’s father and various official bodies after Thomas Baker Brown was reported missing, as well as field cards sent home by Thomas Baker Brown from a prisoner of war camp in Dülmen.

The collection includes of a significant amount of war memorabilia collected both during and after World War I. Items include comics such as ‘The Bystander’ which was published during the war, Thomas Baker Brown’s ration books, maps of France, Germany and Austria showing the position of trenches and Thomas Baker Brown’s handwritten notes for a book on his experiences as a soldier.

Date Range of Material
1915 – 1970s

Size of Collection
6 files of 827 items

Collection Reference Code
GB186/TBB

How To Order Items From This Collection
# First, use the finding aid below to search through a list of the individual items we have within this collection.
# If you find an item you would like to consult in the Special Collections reading room, simply make a note of the reference number and title of the item(s) you are interested in (for example GB186/TBB/1/5/1 War Office Procedures For Missing Officers And Men).
# You can then place your order by linking to our request form

Finding Aid
The catalogue for the Baker Brown Archive is available via the Archives Hub.

Handy Links
A Guide to finding and using Archives and Rare Books
More Archives and Special Collections for History, Classics and Archaeology students

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