Subject strengths: Military History, Local History, History, Social History

This collection comprises 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 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 are 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 also consists 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.

 

Collection Name and Collection Reference Code:

Collection Name: Baker Brown (Thomas) Archive

Archive Ref Code: GB186/TBB 

Date Range of Material

1915 - 1967

Type of Material

The personal archive of Thomas Baker Brown

Size of Collection

3 Linear Metres of shelving 

How To Order Items From This Collection

Please 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 GB 186 TBB/1/3/1 Photographs of Thomas Baker Brown).

You can then place your order by linking to our Request Form.

Finding Aid 

Archival catalogue available via the Archives Hub.

Unable to visit our Reading Room?

If you are unable to visit our reading room, we also have a virtual reading room service and a digitisation service archive and rare book collections.

Other Resources

Material from this archive was used in our Treasures of the Month feature for November 2018.

Material from this archive has been included in the exhibition 'Captured, In Flight: An Officer and a Private on the Western Front'.