Princess Royal Fortress Military Museum > Records

First World War Postcard ‘Afrique Occidentale Francaise’ sent to Miss Vera VERGE

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'Ernie'

1917

Overview

Coloured printed postcard of a long wooden boat with a small sail carrying provisions and an indigenous family. On the back is a handwritten letter from ‘Ernie’.

Historical information

Part of an extensive collection of postcards received by Vera VERGE. The collection was kept by Vera throughout her life and donated to the Princess Royal Fortress by a family member in 2019.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-12-2019.16.100

Item type

Postcards

Themes

War and Conflict > World War 1

Material

Card

Width

138 mm

Height or length

90 mm

Weight

4 g

Inscriptions and markings

On front “71. Afrique Occidentale Francaise – Pirogue indigene / Collection generale [sic] Dakar”. On back “36 hrs from England / 7/1/17 / My dear Vera / at last we are within / feeling distance of our destination / We will probably reach there tomorrow / evening. We are running through / high seas now and it’s as cold as cold / This is a picture of the natives / at Dakar our last port of call / We spent our Xmas day here / We were away out at sea for / New Years Day – now we expect to / reach England tomorrow evening / and a jolly good job too I’ll write a / decent letter as soon as possible / Vera. Now for a time Au Revoir / Ernie xx”.

Place made

South Africa

Year

1917

Primary significance criteria

Historic significance

Social or spiritual significance

Comparative significance criteria

Well provenanced

Google Maps search term / URL

https://maps.app.goo.gl/gWHZtRH1mm24SAjK8

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