Grimsby “Chums” Camp, Brocklesby, 1914.

Real Photographic Postcard (RPPC) Publisher: Photo Department, Porri’s News Bureau (P.N.B.), Grimsby Date: Autumn 1914

This real photographic postcard records six members of the Grimsby Chums during training at Brocklesby Park, Lincolnshire, in the autumn of 1914. Two soldiers pull a General Service handcart along a country road while four comrades accompany them, capturing an everyday scene from the battalion’s earliest weeks of military training.

The Grimsby Chums, officially the 10th (Service) Battalion, The Lincolnshire Regiment, was raised in September 1914 following Lord Kitchener’s call for volunteers. As one of Britain’s famous “Pals” battalions, it drew together friends, neighbours and workmates from Grimsby and the surrounding district, creating a unit with a particularly strong local identity. The battalion quickly became a source of civic pride as hundreds of local men volunteered for military service during the opening months of the First World War.

Brocklesby Park served as the battalion’s principal early training camp, where recruits were introduced to military discipline, drill, route marching, musketry and fieldcraft before progressing to further training. The two-wheeled General Service handcart seen in the photograph was an indispensable feature of British Army camps, used daily to transport rations, baggage, engineering stores, ammunition and other essential supplies around the encampment.

The photograph records a routine moment in camp life before active service overseas transformed the lives of many of the volunteers. Within a year the battalion had crossed to France, where the Grimsby Chums would earn a distinguished reputation while enduring the hardships and heavy casualties of the Western Front. Today, images such as this have become poignant reminders of a generation whose lives were profoundly shaped by the First World War.

Published by the Photo Department of Porri’s News Bureau, Grimsby, the postcard forms part of an extensive series of locally produced real photographic postcards documenting the people, places and events of North East Lincolnshire during the early twentieth century. The divided reverse has not been postally used but bears the pencilled greeting “With Love & best wishes”, followed by an indistinct signature, adding a small but personal connection to the original owner.

Publisher Profile – Porri’s News Bureau

Founded in 1882 by journalist Louis Porri, Porri’s News Bureau became one of Grimsby’s leading local news agencies and publishers of real photographic postcards. Operating from premises at 13 & 15 Cleethorpe Road, Grimsby, the business documented local events, industries, streets, public ceremonies and everyday life, creating a remarkable visual archive of the district during the late Victorian and Edwardian periods. Louis Porri is also believed to have lived at Healing, just west of Grimsby.

The family’s contribution to photography continued into the next generation. Louis’s son, Cyril Porri, served with the Royal Flying Corps, where he became a pioneer of military aerial photography. During the First World War he commanded the Royal Flying Corps School of Photography, helping to establish photographic training at a time when aerial reconnaissance was revolutionising modern warfare. He later became Commanding Officer of the RAF School of Photography and subsequently served as an Intelligence Officer during the Second World War. The careers of Louis and Cyril Porri together span the remarkable development of photography from local documentary record to an essential element of modern military intelligence.

Today, postcards bearing the P.N.B. imprint are valued not only as attractive souvenirs of their time but also as important historical documents, preserving scenes of Grimsby and the surrounding district that might otherwise have been lost.

Catalogue Record Object: Real Photographic Postcard (RPPC) Title: Grimsby “Chums” Camp, Brocklesby, 1914 Publisher: Photo Department, Porri’s News Bureau (P.N.B.), Grimsby Date: Autumn 1914 Place: Brocklesby Park, Lincolnshire Collection: Grimsby & Cleethorpes Museum

Digital Conservation: This image has been lightly conserved from the original postcard to museum standards. Conservation has been limited to the careful removal of age-related blemishes and surface deterioration while preserving the original composition, geometry, tonal range and authentic photographic detail. No historical content has been added, removed or reconstructed.