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A rare pair of original Real Photo Postcards (RPPC) depicting sailors attending the 108th Weekly Course at the Anti Gas School in Devonport. The photographs offer a fascinating before-and-after shot showing the same group of Royal Navy servicemen posing normally in one image and wearing full chemical respirator gas masks in the other.
Visible on the sailors' cap tallies are several notable Royal Navy shore establishments and vessels, including HMS Defiance, HMS Vivid, HMS Impregnable, HMS Scimitar, and HMS Thunderer.
The reverse of the cards features handwritten contemporary notes giving exceptional context to the pair. One card bears the inscription "The unusual smile was caused by a remark passed by the photographer," explaining the cheerful expressions of the men before putting on their equipment. The second card notes "Same people in gas masks. Please save these," and is dated 1st July 1924 (marked R.N.B. 1st July 1924).
Although dated July 1924, this interwar training collection holds immense relevance to the legacy of WW1. Following the widespread and devastating introduction of chemical warfare during the First World War, the Royal Navy established specialized Anti-Gas training facilities, such as the school at Devonport, to ensure naval personnel remained fully prepared for chemical threats throughout the 1920s and into WWII. These original photographs, circa 1924, represent a compelling piece of British naval and military history.
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