Alfred W. Richardson Collection

The items within this collection relate to Private Alfred William Richardson (19/03/1894 - 15/09/1916), who was a civil service rifleman with the 13th London Regiment during World War One. The bulk of the collection is comprised of letters and postcards written by Alfred to his mother Elizabeth (nee Jackman) (DC23/1/1), father Alfred and sister Violet (DC23/1/2), in the year 1916. These are posted from Winchester, Havre, and Rouen. Alfred writes about his daily activities and keeps his family up to date with where he is, signing off as 'Dog' or 'Doggie'. There is a small collection of letters written to Elizabeth by Nurse Dorothy Chapman about Alfred (DC23/2). Also included are photographs of Alfred and members of his family (DC23/4) and official records (DC23/3), such as correspondence from the War Office to his parents after his death. The final series (DC23/5) contains miscellaneous items related to Alfred and the Richardsons, including pressed flowers, memorial cards and envelopes.

Alfred William Richardson was born March 19, 1894 to Alfred W. Richardson and Elizabeth (nee Jackman), in Richmond. His family lived on Newry Road in St Margarets, with the 1911 England Census also listing his sister Violet Jackman Richardson (age 6 months), and Ann Jackman (maternal grandmother - widow) as residents. Alfred attended Richmond Parochial School, and later worked as a Solicitor's Junior Clerk. He was wounded in action and died at No. 3 Stationary Hospital, Rouen, France. He was buried at St. Sever Cemetery, France. Details of his injuries, time in hospital, and death can be found in letters written by Nurse Dorothy Chapman to Elizabeth (DC23/2) and a letter from the hospital chaplain, Tudor Philips (DC23/5/5). Both Alfred's father and grandfather were named Alfred.

Items are generally arranged in chronological order, those without dates (or complete dates) can be found at the end of their series or file.
The collection is arranged as follows:

• DC23/1 letters to mother and father
• DC23/2 letters from Dorothy Chapman
• DC23/3 official documents
• DC23/4 photographs
• DC23/5 miscellaneous items

This collection is open for access and can be viewed at Richmond upon Thames Local Studies Library and Archive.
The opening times and address for Richmond upon Thames Local Studies Library and Archive can be found online at: http://www.richmond.gov.uk/localstudies
If you would like further information about accessing this collection or have any other queries, please contact Richmond upon Thames Local Studies Library and Archive through any of the contact methods listed at: http://www.richmond.gov.uk/localstudies

A more detailed catalogue of this collection can be found online at https://richmond.spydus.co.uk/spydus.html