privately made, England

This group of slides appear to have been made by an amateur photographer associated (possibly as a staff member or patient) with the temporary military hospital set up at Alderley Park, a private estate in Cheshire, during the First World War. With two exceptions (see below), the images appear to have been taken on the same occasion, probably as a souvenir of the group of people the photographer met at the hospital.

Two of the slides found in the group (slides [20] and [21] here) appear to be from different sources, but have been included with the hospital photographs as they were found in the same box.

The location and subject are identified in a handwritten label on the box in which the slides were found, which also has the inscription 'J. Whalley Jones, Nether Alderley, Near Chelford' handwritten inside the lid. This is almost certainly Joseph Whalley Jones (1896-1976), recorded in the 1911 Census as the son of the gamekeeper of Alderley Park estate. It is not known whether Jones was the photographer of these particular slides, or just a later owner.

For an excellent short account of the use of Alderley Park as a WW1 hospital see http://www.stmarysalderley.com/ww1-2/hospital/ 

Many thanks to Professor John Prag for making these slides available.

21 slides in Manchester Museum Collection