In the summer of 2012  an album covering a period from 1911-1919 was cut into pieces and individual "interesting" photographs sold on ebay - meaning that much of the historical value of the original document was destroyed.

It is clear from the adverts seen that many of the pictures were of places visited on holiday, and I saw nothing to suggest where the original owners would have lived.

I have rescued two of the military pictures - together with thumbnails of 5 other connected with Hertfordshire.

Harvesting at Aldbury, July 1913

"Cleaning up"  at Gaddesden, August 1913

Limbers at Gaddesden, August 1913

Field Wagon at Gaddesden, Aug 1913

I have not yet determined the identity of the troops that exercised in Ashridge Park in 1913.

These small pictures are taken from ebay adverts to try and maintain a record of what was in the original album.

"Soldiers leaving Camp", July 1914

Entering Camp, July 1014

Ashridge Camp, July 1914

In 1914 the camp was made up of territorial soldiers of the East Midland Brigade - some 4,000 men from Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Hertfordshire. The camp was in full swing when war was declared and orders to break camp and proceed to base and then to war stations was received on Monday, 3rd August, 1914. A detailed account of the movement of the Hertfordshire contingent is given in The London Gunners come to Town.

Other WW1 photographs suggest the owner of the album was a soldier based in Margate in 1915, in Thetford Camp in 1917, and in Zeebrugge in 1919.