Herbert Edmund Crocker Boer War diaries

Collection

Call Number: MS 1932

Scope and Contents

The papers comprise four manuscript diaries written by Herbert Edmund Crocker in 1900 and a typed transcription of the diaries. The diaries contain lengthy, detailed descriptions of his military service in South Africa and the daily rigors of camp life. The diaries are interspersed with sketches and maps drawn by Crocker.

Dates

1900

Creator

Crocker, Herbert Edmund, 1877-1962

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased by the African Collection Curator and transferred to Manuscripts and Archives, 2009.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged as received from the vendor.

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/mssa.ms.1932

Additional Description

Overview

The papers comprise four manuscript diaries written by Herbert Edmund Crocker in 1900 and a typed transcription. The diaries contain lengthy, detailed descriptions of his military service in South Africa in 1900 and the daily rigors of camp life. The diaries are interspersed with sketches and maps drawn by Crocker.

Biographical / Historical

Herbert Edmund Crocker was born on September 10, 1877, in Wandsworth, East London. He attended St. Michael's School, Westgate-on-Sea, in Kent, and from 1892 to 1894 was educated at Shrewsbury Public School, before studying French in Paris until 1896. In March 1900, Crocker joined the First Company of the Essex Regiment in South Africa, earning the commission of second lieutenant. After sustaining an injury during his regimental service in Belfast, South Africa, he was seconded to the North Nigerian Regiment until the end of the Anglo-Boer War. Crocker served in Mesopotamia and was commander of the Thirteenth Signal Company at Gallipoli during World War I, earning the rank of major and then brevet lieutenant-colonel in 1917. He retired from military service in 1929. Crocker died on May 13, 1962.