dravin Posted 19 December , 2008 Share Posted 19 December , 2008 Good day all I have a pocket bible from WW1, sadly not connected to my own family but something that was left in the garage of a previous home in Leicestershire It has "The Soldiers Bible" printed on the front cover, size 9cm x 13.5cm x 3cm thick, black or very dark blue covers, on the inside of the front cover is "A Soldiers Prayer" There is an inscription inside from the soldier to his son in 1916, from research I now know he was Samuel Maurice (or Morris) Elijah HALL 67009 of the 1st Btn Sherwood Foresters sadly I found he died 31st July 1917 (and have accumulated much on the family now) Also inside is "Supplied for Public Service" with a Crown above it, it was printed by Horace Hart : Oxford, Printer to the University The poignant inscription reads "From dady to master George Harry HALL. my son and God bless his little heart Oct 4th 1916" George Harry was then 3 years old My question, were these bibles issued to all soldiers or by request or what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDP1955 Posted 19 December , 2008 Share Posted 19 December , 2008 Good day all I have a pocket bible from WW1, sadly not connected to my own family but something that was left in the garage of a previous home in Leicestershire It has "The Soldiers Bible" printed on the front cover, size 9cm x 13.5cm x 3cm thick, black or very dark blue covers, on the inside of the front cover is "A Soldiers Prayer" There is an inscription inside from the soldier to his son in 1916, from research I now know he was Samuel Maurice (or Morris) Elijah HALL 67009 of the 1st Btn Sherwood Foresters sadly I found he died 31st July 1917 (and have accumulated much on the family now) Also inside is "Supplied for Public Service" with a Crown above it, it was printed by Horace Hart : Oxford, Printer to the University The poignant inscription reads "From dady to master George Harry HALL. my son and God bless his little heart Oct 4th 1916" George Harry was then 3 years old My question, were these bibles issued to all soldiers or by request or what? I also have a bible issued to a soldier unknown to me ... mine though is tan coloured and is an Active Service Testament with a message from Lord Roberts dated August 1914. It is also inscribed, JRC Holmes, 5361 Queens Westminster Rifles. I havent done a great deal of research on it yet, as I have only recently found it! I have no idea how these bibles would have been issued Diannne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dravin Posted 19 December , 2008 Author Share Posted 19 December , 2008 I also have a bible issued to a soldier unknown to me ... mine though is tan coloured and is an Active Service Testament with a message from Lord Roberts dated August 1914. It is also inscribed, JRC Holmes, 5361 Queens Westminster Rifles. I havent done a great deal of research on it yet, as I have only recently found it! I have no idea how these bibles would have been issued Diannne Hi Dianne A snippet for you John Robert Charles HOLMES service numbers 5361 and 552371 of 25 Trelawny Rd, Hackney when he attested in Dec 1915 aged 19 and 11 months He is perhaps the JRC HOLMES whose birth was registered in Mile End 1896 Cheers NJO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank_East Posted 19 December , 2008 Share Posted 19 December , 2008 I have a Roberts bible.It belonged to my uncle, No 1928, Rifleman John East 1st Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment who was wounded and captured at the Battle of Frezenberg on 8 May 1915 and who died after a leg amputation at Friedrichsfeld POW Camp, Wesel, Rhineland. It must have been issued to him when he joined the territorials. I am told it was returned to my grandparents via the Red Cross. It has presently been put away for "safe keeping" which means that we cannot find it without a deep search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonraker Posted 19 December , 2008 Share Posted 19 December , 2008 See this previous thread Moonraker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dravin Posted 19 December , 2008 Author Share Posted 19 December , 2008 See this previous thread Moonraker Hi and thanks but I had read that thread before posting, although it mentions bibles of one sort or another, none are like the one I have, in the form it is, it does not look like a purchased one so wondered if there was one given to those that wanted one perhaps. I have heard of a man who kept his in his Princess Mary tin, I remember him saying it fitted perfectly, one of the last old soldiers from WW1 I recall, although the one I have seems to thick to fit the tin I also notice there are very few for sale or mentioned by googling hence my question Cheers anyway NJO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kildaremark Posted 19 December , 2008 Share Posted 19 December , 2008 I have a crucifix and prayerbook which I believe are both army issued:- The prayerbook is stamped "Supplied for the public service" and was printed in 1915 by the Catholic Trust Society. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevem49 Posted 19 December , 2008 Share Posted 19 December , 2008 I have a black book of 'The Common Prayer' with the Soldiers Prayer on the front inside. It is black with' Official Copy' on the front. I wonder if different regiments issued different books? Stevem PS - The medal rolls have Maurice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dravin Posted 19 December , 2008 Author Share Posted 19 December , 2008 I have a black book of 'The Common Prayer' with the Soldiers Prayer on the front inside. It is black with' Official Copy' on the front. I wonder if different regiments issued different books? Stevem PS - The medal rolls have Maurice. Hi Steve, I was going to mail you as he was a Sherwood Forester so i'm glad you have seen this, I have his medal card and soldiers that died, his docs do not look like they survived, if I can get a camera off my daughter I will take some pics to put up Cheers NJO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDP1955 Posted 19 December , 2008 Share Posted 19 December , 2008 John Robert Charles HOLMES service numbers 5361 and 552371 of 25 Trelawny Rd, Hackney when he attested in Dec 1915 aged 19 and 11 months He is perhaps the JRC HOLMES whose birth was registered in Mile End 1896 Cheers NJO Hi Dravin This is indeed my man, or at least the man who owns this bible - although I hadn't located his service record. I'll certainly have another go at finding it! I think he may have known my great uncle who was KIA and commemorated at Thiepval, France. My grandfather had my great uncles medals and this bible. My great uncle was in the Ist City of London Regiment, Royal Fusiliers whereas John Holmes was in the Queens Westminster Rifles - both London Regiments The bible has John's address in it, 25 Trelawny Rd, Hackney also a camp in Winchester where he must have done some training at some point I have seen the Mile End 1896 birth but have not as yet got the birth cert. My great uncle was also born in Mile End in 1896 A fine set of similarities between these two men, I think you'll agree Dianne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathrynWhite Posted 15 October , 2015 Share Posted 15 October , 2015 Reviving this old topic. Does anyone know whether there were certain bibles that were provided by the army/ individual regiments or were they all independently supplied to the soldiers (either from their families or from church communities)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnumbellum Posted 16 October , 2015 Share Posted 16 October , 2015 I have a pocket bible from WW1, sadly not connected to my own family but something that was left in the garage of a previous home in Leicestershire It has "The Soldiers Bible" printed on the front cover, size 9cm x 13.5cm x 3cm thick, black or very dark blue covers, on the inside of the front cover is "A Soldiers Prayer" There is an inscription inside from the soldier to his son in 1916, from research I now know he was Samuel Maurice (or Morris) Elijah HALL 67009 of the 1st Btn Sherwood Foresters sadly I found he died 31st July 1917 (and have accumulated much on the family now) Also inside is "Supplied for Public Service" with a Crown above it, it was printed by Horace Hart : Oxford, Printer to the University The poignant inscription reads "From daddy to master George Harry HALL. my son and God bless his little heart Oct 4th 1916" George Harry was then 3 years old My question, were these bibles issued to all soldiers or by request or what? Two factors strongly indicate that the bible in question was formally issued in some way. 1. The inscription, "Supplied for Public Service", implies formal issue rather than purchased in the ordinary way. 2. The fact of the bible being passed to the son at a tender age suggests that the soldier did not need it for himself, because he already had his own bible with its own memories, so passed the spare one as a special keepsake for his son. How and by whom such an issue was made remains open to further research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 16 October , 2015 Share Posted 16 October , 2015 I don't have my copy of the Equipment Regulations to hand but I am fairly certain that bibles and prayer books formed part of an official army issue of "kit". The actual books were provided by bible societies and presumably the army paid the societies for them, under a bulk contract, to cover the actual cost of production. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgibson150 Posted 16 October , 2015 Share Posted 16 October , 2015 I am not sure how this fits in with the thread but I have my grandfather's New Testament pocket bible which was supplied by his church, extracts below. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khaki Posted 16 October , 2015 Share Posted 16 October , 2015 A few more items for you viewing pleasure, khaki Mostly Great War New Testaments or prayer/hymn books, the last tan colored book is a British Boer War South Africa 1900. The shiny one is a metal covered New Testament maybe WW2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khaki Posted 21 October , 2015 Share Posted 21 October , 2015 Here's another GW religious item, a Crucifix on its stand together with its small tin container and lid, overall size about 1,2/8th" height, 1918 penny included for scale. khaki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aimie10 Posted 24 February , 2016 Share Posted 24 February , 2016 I have a Soldiers Bible which was in my late fathers belongings but my father never served in the war as he was a shepherd, inside it has a stamp saying "Supplied for the Public Service", I was just wondering if anyone can tell me anything else about this, many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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