The Last Post: Caerwys in 1909.

Caerwys Post Office in 1909

In the summer of 1909 some major military exercises took place in the hills around Caerwys. The local Post Office served as the hub to transfer the many thousands of letters, both private and official, around the country. At one stage some 12000 soldiers were in the area. Many photographs of these events survive; others have been included in this blog. This happens to be my favourite image for two reasons. First is that I walk passed this building everyday and I find it hard to match the same place today. I would like to get enough modern Caerwysonians to reconstruct the photograph. Earlier today I went into High Street and tried to take the same shot (without soldiers, and Post Office obviously!). This is it:

Even in black and white it does not seem to be the same place, but it is.

The second reason I like the 'Last Post' photograph is because of the huge amount of detail that it contains. The faces make for a compelling image. Digital photographs allow for sections to be examined in detail; I have extracted a small section:

Mixture of soldiers and civilians: the postmistress looks suitably coy in such company.

The advertising poster is for Cassell's Magazine, which contains a story about the Cadbury Countess. The Cassell's Magazine was a very popular journal containing serialised stories from top authors, including Conan Doyle and Rudyard Kipling. The other advertising 'banner' from the wall seems to indicate that the Post Office had a public telephone.

One final segment of the photograph shows another advertisement for the services of the Post Office; the poster in the window sets out the hours of business.

Probably best not to mess with these men, but the dog looks happy enough!

My final thoughts on this remarkable photograph is that these professional soldiers would not have known at the time that within five summers they would have been part of the British Expeditionary Force trying to halt the German advance through France. I imagine they would have looked back on these exercises in the peaceful hills surrounding Caerwys with some affection.