Two British prisoners of war, one in drag, posing for "The Timbertown Follies", at a prisoner of war camp in Groningen. Photographic postcard, 191-.

Date:
[between 1910 and 1919?]
Reference:
2044098i
Part of:
James Gardiner Collection: photographs of military, naval, and prisoner-of-war camp drag.
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view Two British prisoners of war, one in drag, posing for "The Timbertown Follies", at a prisoner of war camp in Groningen. Photographic postcard, 191-.

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Credit

Two British prisoners of war, one in drag, posing for "The Timbertown Follies", at a prisoner of war camp in Groningen. Photographic postcard, 191-. Public Domain Mark. Source: Wellcome Collection.

About this work

Description

The man in drag stands next to a piano, wearing a white dress; the other man in drag leans on the front of the piano dressed as a pierrot. Two stars of the Timbertown Follies, 'Molly' (or Mollie) Morgan and A.H. Bennett. 'Molly' Morgan is typical of several extremely talented performers who went on to perform professionally as female impersonators in touring revues after the war was over, and well into the 1930s

They are dressed up for one of the many revues staged by some of the 1,500 or so members of the First Royal Naval Brigade, interned as prisoners of war in the camp outside Groningen, northern Netherlands, from 1914 to 1918, which they nicknamed HMS Timbertown. As they were not involved in any conflict and were housed in reasonable comfort with time on their hands, they were able to stage some very elaborate and professional theatrical revues which became famous back in the UK. Their performances included pastiches of many of the revues and musical comedies produced in England at this time

Publication/Creation

[England] : [publisher not identified], [between 1910 and 1919?]

Physical description

1 photographic postcard ; 8.7 x 13.7 cm

Lettering

The Timbertown Follies. Interned in Holland. "Miss" P.R. Morgan and A.H. Bennett

Notes

This work is untitled: the title has been supplied by the cataloguer.

Reference

Wellcome Collection 2044098i

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Where to find it

  • Military, naval, and prisoner-of-war camp drag

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