26 replies to this topic

[J Douglas]

Thanks for those great old photos, number six. Sometimes a single picture can be a real window on to the past.

Some of those pictures from WW1 remind me of a book I recently read by local history prof Ben Isitt. Not all those marching off where all that enthusiastic, at least not in the case of those embarking to intervene in the Russian revolution in 1918. Four years of war was enough, I suppose, and the goals of the intervention were murky to many in the rank and file. Some fell out of line while marching to ships, in the area of Fort and Quadra, and were only persuaded to continue by officers firing warning shots in the air.

[Number Six]

You're welcome J Douglas.

The pressure to enlist during the opening months of the war must have been tremendous. The patriotic fervor was intense and the general feeling that you had to "do your bit" would have been overwhelming ... and women handing out white feathers to men who weren't in uniform didn't help.

I've read quite a few letters written by Canadian soldiers to their families back home and not surprisingly their experiences, or at least their attitude toward those experiences, varied widely. Some viewed it as a great adventure compared to their life back on the farm while others dreamt of nothing but their old lives back home. Obviously the war looked a lot different to a soldier dug into the Belgian mud then it did to an officier in the Royal Flying Corps ... but in the end 10's of thousands of them are buried in identical graves.

I have a good selection of images of soldiers departing Victoria for the front and plan to do something special with them in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day.

[Number Six]

Over the weekend I found some excellent quality copies of a series of 6 photographs taken by pioneer photographer Arthur Vipond in 1859. They represent some of the earliest images of Victoria.

I found these online at the Library of Congress website and uploaded them to Historypin (there are no publishing restrictions). Tip: if you're checking out the Library of Congress website click the "Browse neighboring items by call number" link to see the other images. These photos are also on the BC Archives website but unfortunately they are of very poor quality.

The photos were taken from Church Hill (where the Law Courts stand today) and I've numbered them 1 through 6:

Photo 1 (looking northeast)
Photo 2 (looking north)
Photo 3 (looking northwest)
Photo 4 (looking west)
Photo 5 (looking southwest)
Photo 6 (looking south)

I also stitched together a panorama of all 6 photos. It's a bit rough but it's still pretty cool.

[Holden West]

^That panorama is amazing. It's eerie how unfamilar that scene looks and you begin to see the landmarks--Laurel Point, the Empress Hotel mudflats. It's like a weird alternate universe.

[LJ]

It looks just like it will after the tsunami from the "big one".

[oaktrees]

Hey folks,

I have started a historypin account for the Oak Bay Archives which can be viewed here. We have one tour so far but stay tuned for many more to come!

Thanks for the inspiration with this Number 6/Ft Victoria! Your pics/tours are great. Have you had any luck negotiating with the Province/City yet to get some of their holdings up? I would definitely be into helping with that if more volunteers are needed.

[Sparky]

Welcome to Vibrant Victoria oaktrees.

Thank you for the gift.