Four Framed Photographic Postcards of Le Havre Port France - Herbert Thomas HOWSON

Le Havre as a port dates back over 500 years. It became an estuary fortress during the reign of Louis XIV and it continued to develop during the industrial revolution, with a number shipyards opening. The development of the railway under the leadership of Napolean III added to its importance and docks were built in the 1850s. The period 1850 to 1914 was the golden age for the port with new buildings and grand boulevards, a City Hall, a Courthouse and a new Stock Exchange. Le Havre was a starting point for potential immigrants and transatlantic voyages became common. Just before the war (1914) of the approximately 750,000 passengers who passed through Le Havre, 150,000 sailed to the United States.
During World War I, the port of Le Havre served as a crucial base for the British Expeditionary Force, with 1.9 million British soldiers passing through it, and it was designated as the primary base for troop and supply movements to the Western Front. The city served as a base for British warships with 1.9 million British soldiers passing through during the war.
The postcards were framed by Private Herbert Thomas HOWSON service number 3150 who enlisted on 21July 1915 and embarked for France on the HMAT Medic on 18 January 1916. Herbert was from Fremantle and was aged 22 when he enlisted. He served in France and was wounded in 1916 in the jaw. He returned to France for the remainder of the war was repatriated to Australia in April 1919.