Lord Kitchener - "K. of K." postcard

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c. 1915

Overview

Postcard featuring a colourful image of Lord Kitchener in military uniform on a white background. A border of red, white and blue stripes surrounds the area of the card where the portrait appears, below which is plain white with black writing.
The uniform is grey-blue in colour and has gold braid, buttons and military decorations. A large multi-coloured ribbon bar representing all of the medals he has been awarded appears on his left side.
His cap has a white top, red band with military insignia, and a black brim covered with gold braid.
The name of the artist who painted the original portrait is at the lower right.
At the bottom of the card is written ' "K. of K.", Field-Marshal Earl Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, 1914'.

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 is based on a portrait of Kitchener done by Cecil Watson Quinnell in 1914. The "K. of K." refers to the conferral of the title Baron Kitchener of Khartoum in 1898.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-119-RoW00191

Item type

Themes

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

Material

Card