Vital Collection

WW2 - Flower-Class Corvette in heavy seas - Atlantic Convoy
WW2 - Weather hazards which the convoy escorts in the Atlantic Ocean have to face in Winter - a Flower-Class Corvette, of 930 tonnes, being thrown high out of the water by a heavy sea. Date: 1943

Coal mining by G. H. Davis
Coal mine working and outcrop production: how coal, so vital to every form of war industry, can be won from opencast veins at shallow depths. Date: 1944

Poster: Don t Help The Enemy! Careless talk may give away vital secrets. 1940s

LCC-LFB emergency dam unit and trailer pump, WW2
Emergency water supplies were vital to supplementing the available mains supply for fighting the vast swathe of fires that swept parts of London during the Blitz

WW2 recruitment poster, Thousands of women needed now in the ATS, WaF, vital to the offensive. Full information at the nearest recruiting centre or your employment exchange. Date: circa 1940

Wartime Railway Wagons
A photograph of a mass of wartime railway wagons, loaded with vital supplies. Date: circa 1944

Recruitment poster, Nursing is Vital War Work, WW2
Recruitment poster, Nursing is Vital War Work, Second World War Date: circa 1941

Moroccan Nationalist Troops on parade, Burgos; Spanish Civil
Photograph showing some of the Moroccan troops on parade in Burgos, during the Spanish Civil War, 1936. These troops, from General Franco's Army of Africa, were well-trained and well-equipped

WW2 era - Comic Postcard - In Convoy
The Caption is In Convoy. The convoy system for the merchant ships bringing in vital supples was introduced to counter the German U Boat attacks

Advertisement for Iron Jelloids, for children, men and women - the great tonic. Looks like it from the visible vitality of this 1920s family. Date: 1924

Entrance of Romero to Mexico 1865
Entrance of Matias Romero into Mexico, surrounded by soldiers, as people nearby watch. Romero was Benito Juraez Minister to the United States

MAGIC CATS OF CHINA
These magical spirit-cats perform the vital function of keeping away the rats which would otherwise devour the silkworms : the flowers also keep the worms healthy

WW2 - Home Front - Schoolchildren in Chelsea, London take part in a paper-salvage campaign, carrying a total of two tonnes of paper from their school in Glebe Place to the Kings Road

WW2 poster, Keep them both flying! Speed is vital! Date: circa 1942

Silk postcard, HMS Olympic, giving the liner's measurements

Boeing Stearman N2S-2 at Corpus Christi, Texas in 1943 This and its US Army PT-13 equivalent were vital to US wartime pilot training

Map of Okinawa island by G. H. Davis
Okinawa island, the Key to Japan, whose capital, Naha, had just fallen towards the end of the Second World War. It was a vital base for the air war on Japan. Date: 1945

Brazil - Sao Paulo - Serpentarium of the Instituto Butantan, a Brazilian biomedical research centre affiliated to the Sao Paulo State Secretary of Health

The Battle in Susteren; Second World War, 1945
Sketch showing a battle between British infantry (in buildings on right) and German tanks (on left) in the town of Susteren, Holland, 1945

Relief of a Roman tombstone
Roman Art. Italy. Relief of a Roman tombstone. Church of St. Vital. Ravenna

WW2 poster, Care of instruments is vital. Your Jar is their Jam. Printed for Ministry of Aircraft Production. Date: 1943

Training Carrier Pigeons
A German soldier with a board on his back used to train carrier pigeons to carry vital military information and news. Date: 1930s

Astral bodies: the female life force
The elan vital (life-force) photographed as it emanates from a female hand. Date: early 20th century

Nijmegen Bridge under attack by enemy aircraft, WW2
Nijmegen Bridge, the vital bridgehead in the Eindhoven corridor, under attack by enemy aircraft during the Second World War. Date: 1944

Royal West Kents in Great War Deeds, WW1
The Queens Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) gallantly holding a road on the Western Front at a critical time. Reproduction of a painting by A C Michael in Great War Deeds

North American AT-6A Texan -this US Army advanced trainer proved vital during the early year training need

De Havilland DH98 Mosquito IV -here is one of a handful of civilianised Mosquitos that operated a vital shuttle between Scotland and Sweden

Consolidated B-24D Liberator -shown amid Pacific palms Here the Liberators long range was a vital asset, the aircraft being used by both the US Army and Navy, as well as the RAF

WW2 poster, Elephants know no arithmetic. Its the little things that count. Attention to detail is vital to all good work. Design by Victor Hicks. Date: 1940s

Military radar in wartime by G. H. Davis
Military radar: how this vital secret weapon helped the Allied land forces to achieve final victory during the Second World War. Date: 1945

Use of radar in the air war by G. H. Davis
Radar: how the most important secret weapon of offence and defence was applied to the air war. Its vital contribution to all the fighting services during the Second World War. Date: 1945

By-products developed from coal by G. H. Davis
The enormous importance of coal as the basic element in vital war manufactures. A diagrammatic drawing showing a great variety of by-products developed from coal. Date: 1944

Life saving guide for seamen by G. H. Davis
For those in peril on the sea: a Government guide designed to save the lives of shipwrecked seamen during the Second World War

New type of escort vessel by G. H. Davis
A Woolworth Carrier: first details of the new type of escort vessel giving vital air cover to British convoys in mid-Atlantic during the Second World War. Date: 1943

German losses in Gulf of Tunis by G. H. Davis
German convoy of giant transports wiped out: 31 Messerschmitt ME323s shot down in the Gulf of Tunis, Second World War. The large six-engined aircraft were carrying personnel

Maps of Sicilian Straits and Mediterranean by G. H. Davis
A map of the Sicilian Straits: the vital channel in the Mediterranean War. Also a map of the general Mediterranean area. Date: 1941

RAF photographic reconnaissance work by G. H. Davis
Spying out the enemys secrets from the air: photographic reconnaissance work in the RAF. How the RAF has obtained its great collection of photographs of vital areas in Germany

Peace in wartime, rural silhouettes, WW1
Peace in wartime, three silhouettes of the unchanging English countryside, vital for food supplies for a country at war. Depicting idealised views of Morning, Afternoon and Evening activities

Ground crews and heavy bombers by G. H. Davis
Background to a raid on Berlin: the ground crews who keep British heavy bombers in the air during the Second World War. Showing the vital maintenance work carried out at a British bomber base

Temple Ruins, Palmyra
The remains of one of the ancient temples in the once prosperous city of Palmyra, Syria. It was known as the Bride of the Desert, vital for desert caravan travellers Date: BC

Pluto Pipe-Lines across the Channel by G. H. Davis
Series of illustrations showing the workings of the Pluto ( Pipe Line Under The Ocean ) pipes across the English Channel which pumped millions of gallons of petrol from Great Britain to France during

Egyptian Water Seller
An Egyptian water seller sells water to a young woman and her child on the streets of Cairo. He cries oh may one refresh thy heart as he goes about his vital business. Date: 1930s

NFS firewomen in dispatch rider training, WW2
London Region NFS firewomen undergoing dispatch rider training. Taught to do everything with a motorbike that could be done, these women would undertake all-terrain training

Women in industry. Tool production. Inspecting thousands of drills each day, women employed by a large Midwest drill and tool company must learn to detect the tiniest flaw in these vital machine

Silicon Chip
An Integrated Circuit, (IC), more commonly known as a Silicon Chip, a vital component of all computers. Date: 1981

Police Sniffer Dog
Rusty the Alsatian searches a vast pile of wreckage for the vital black box, following a plane crash. Date: 1960s

The Ruins at Kohima, Burma; Second World War, 1944
Photograph showing the ruined tennis court and terraces of the District Commissioners bungalow at Kohima, Burma, 1944. Kohima, a vital link in the Manipur Road

A converted bus for pigeons
A motor bus converted into a home, or cote, for French carrier pigeons. Pigeons, along with dogs, proved to be a vital method of communication during battles

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