Lord Kitchener silk postcard

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c. 1915

Overview

Silk postcard featuring an image of the head and shoulders of Lord Kitchener wearing military uniform. He appears in the centre of a gray oval decorated with scrolls and military motifs. The image is mostly greyscale except for the buttons and epaulettes on his uniform which are gold, and a military decoration which has a red ribbon.
On either side beneath his portrait are two red flags with the Union Jack in the corner, held on flagpoles. Between the flags is the Royal Crest which has the motto 'Dieu et mon droit' (meaning 'God and my right'), in decorative scrolls around it. At the bottom is rhe name 'Lord Kitchener'.
The surrounds of the central silk comprise embossed cream coloured paper with a floral theme inside a border.

Historical information

Horatio Herbert Kitchener (1850-1916) was a British Field Marshal and colonial administrator who played a key role in World War I.
He was born in Ireland and trained as a military engineer. He served in the Middle East and Egypt, and became commander-in-chief of the Egyptian army in 1892.
He served as chief of staff in the Second Boer War, and later became Commander-in-Chief.
Kitchener became Secretary of State for War at the start of World War One. He oversaw the rapid expansion of the British Army through the recruitment of volunteers. He became the face of the First World War when he appeared on the 'Your Country Needs You' poster.
He died in 1916 when his ship, HMS Hampshire, struck a German mine while en route to Russia on a diplomatic mission. He was the highest ranking officer to be killed during the war.

This card may have been produced after the death of Lord Kitchener as a mourning or memorial card.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-119-RoW00190

Item type

Themes

Defence > Army
Social History
War and Conflict
War and Conflict > World War 1

Material