michaeldr Posted 25 June , 2010 Share Posted 25 June , 2010 If you have ever seen an official photograph of the Great War, then the chances are that it was taken by Ernest Brooks. This is simply because he took more photographs than anyone else – a figure of 10% of all Great War photograph has been mentioned: [see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Brooks_(photographer)] Serving first with the RNVR at the Dardanelles/Gallipoli and later from 1916 with the Army on the Western Front, he was the longest serving of all the official photographers. Some of his images may be seen here and you are sure to recognize umpteen of them http://digital.nls.uk/pageturner.cfm?mode=...&from_row=1 After the war Brooks was famous and well enough known to accompany the PoW on one of his empire tours. Then, having been honoured and decorated by them, the establishment suddenly turned against him: THE LONDON GAZETTE, 5 MAY, 1925. The KING has directed that the appointment of Ernest Brooks, to be an Officer of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, dated the 1st January, 1920, shall be cancelled and annulled, and his name erased from the Register. CENTKAL CHANCERY OF THE ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD. St. James's Palace, S.W. 1. 5th May, 1925. The KING has directed that the Award of the Medal of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire to Ernest Brooks, which was gazetted on the 3rd June, 1918, shall be cancelled and annulled, and his name erased from the Register. Does anyone know how this photographer managed to upset his apple-cart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Foster Posted 25 June , 2010 Share Posted 25 June , 2010 Brooks images are a fantastic record of the war . Never knew he fell foul to the powers that be. It will be interesting to see if anyone knows the reason . Is that Malins with Brooks ? Regards Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headgardener Posted 25 June , 2010 Share Posted 25 June , 2010 Never knew he fell foul to the powers that be. It will be interesting to se if anyone knows the reason . Very intriguing. No clue HERE, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janecavell Posted 25 June , 2010 Share Posted 25 June , 2010 Curiouser and curiouser. This is from The Times, 6 May 1925: The warrants of appointment as photographer to the King, the Queen, and the Prince of Wales, issued to Mr. Ernest Brooks, have been cancelled . Their Majesties evidently were not amused about something he had done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmania Posted 25 June , 2010 Share Posted 25 June , 2010 He seems to have become persona non grata. In July 1928 he was fined £2 at Marlborough Street Magistrates Court following a charge of using insulting words and behaviour at Grosvener Square, London. 'Police Constable H Meering stated that at 12:20 yesterday morning, while on special duty at 19 Grosvenor Square, at a ball at Lady Beecham's, he had been called to Brooks who had been ejected. Brooks called up the stairs that someone in there owed him a shilling. The witness tried to ascertain what the trouble was and Brooks said:"I am taking no notice of you." Later he tried to get hold of the arm of a lady alighting from a cab, but she took no notice of him. After being warned about his conduct Brooks walked away but returning, got into the crowd, and was arrested.... ....Brooks handed a letter to the magistrate which stated that he was a press photographer of Regent Street, London W., that he was the late private photographer to the King and Queen and the Prince of Wales, and an official photographer during the war. When fined Brooks exclaimed "I have done nothing wrong, sir," adding that it was a scandal.' The Manchester Guardian July 14th 1928. However I haven't come across anything which explains what initially caused the establishment to turn against him. Aled Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 26 June , 2010 Author Share Posted 26 June , 2010 Many thanks to one and all for the replies so far Chris: Well done, yes that is Malins - the IWM has the caption "Lieutenant Ernest Brooks (left) with the official cinematographer, Lieutenant Geoffrey Malins, at a coffee stall behind the lines on the Somme. (Photo Archive: neg Q 1456)" regards Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janecavell Posted 26 June , 2010 Share Posted 26 June , 2010 McClure's Magazine Vol. 1 no. 5 published in September 1925 contained an article by Ernest Brooks called 'Kings, Princes and Governors'. The article itself is subtitled 'Fourteen years of Press Photography at the British Court' but in the contents listing it appears with the more intriguing subtitle 'The Official Photographer's Intimate Anecdotes of the British Court' This much I can see from Google Books. The full text of the magazine isn't available there, sadly, so I can't see what Mr Brooks said. The magazine was published after the withdrawal of his honours, so the article itself can't have been what precipitated the withdrawal of the honours. But it would be interesting to know what his 'intimate anecdotes' were all about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
generalist Posted 23 February , 2012 Share Posted 23 February , 2012 He seems to have become persona non grata. In July 1928 he was fined £2 at Marlborough Street Magistrates Court following a charge of using insulting words and behaviour at Grosvener Square, London. 'Police Constable H Meering stated that at 12:20 yesterday morning, while on special duty at 19 Grosvenor Square, at a ball at Lady Beecham's, he had been called to Brooks who had been ejected. Brooks called up the stairs that someone in there owed him a shilling. The witness tried to ascertain what the trouble was and Brooks said:"I am taking no notice of you." Later he tried to get hold of the arm of a lady alighting from a cab, but she took no notice of him. After being warned about his conduct Brooks walked away but returning, got into the crowd, and was arrested.... ....Brooks handed a letter to the magistrate which stated that he was a press photographer of Regent Street, London W., that he was the late private photographer to the King and Queen and the Prince of Wales, and an official photographer during the war. When fined Brooks exclaimed "I have done nothing wrong, sir," adding that it was a scandal.' The Manchester Guardian July 14th 1928. However I haven't come across anything which explains what initially caused the establishment to turn against him. Aled Resurrecting an old thread, if anyone's still watching it! I have just been told about this article, which may explain it; it claims he was dismissed after taking some mildly scurrilous pictures of the Prince of Wales in a woman's kimono and wig. I am assuming the Prince was an active co-conspirator in this, so presumably the offense was related to the fact they got leaked to the tabloids... However, the story doesn't quite gel with the known details. Brooks was dismissed on 5 May, while the tour was still in Africa, and not after they returned from South America as the article claims. My access to digital copies of the newspapers is limited to the Times and the Guardian, neither of which seem to have felt it appropriate to report this scandalous story, and so I can't even confirm it happened... Still, it's an intriguing addition to Brooks' background! From Gallipoli to princes in drag... -Andrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 26 February , 2012 Author Share Posted 26 February , 2012 Andrew, Many thanks for that interesting link. There is the ring of truth to this story. The PoW was certainly fond of dressing-up (indeed, it's part of the job one might say.) On a previous overseas visit he had “scandalised the (Japanese) Imperial Court” by being photographed dressed as a coolie. L to R: 'Fruity' Metcalf, the PoW and Lord Louis Mountbatten (from 'Mountbatten – eighty years in pictures' Macmillan, London, 1979, ISBN 0-333-26558-0) What Mountbatten could get away with in 1979 may well have been too much for Brooks fifty-plus years earlier. KGV, had very pronounced ideas about dress. I understand that his own trousers were pressed with the creases at the sides (not fore & aft). The Prince himself tells of being sarcastically asked by his father “if it was raining outside?” - the young man had dared to appear with the hems of his trouser legs 'turned-up.' regards Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
generalist Posted 26 February , 2012 Share Posted 26 February , 2012 What Mountbatten could get away with in 1979 may well have been too much for Brooks fifty-plus years earlier. I believe the only possible response to that picture is "oh dear God". That said, if it's from the 1921 tour, it might well have been another one of Brooks's! I think I'll have to track down a biography of E.VIII and see if it casts any more light on this particular misdemeanour... Thanks! -Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 27 February , 2012 Author Share Posted 27 February , 2012 I think I'll have to track down a biography of E.VIII and see if it casts any more light on this particular misdemeanour... As far as I remember, his autobiography 'A King's Story' makes no mention of it regards Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 28 March , 2012 Share Posted 28 March , 2012 An edition of Strand Magazine in 1921 click- has an article entitled "KING AND THE PRINCE OF WALES, THE. Some Intimate and Amusing Anecdotes of the Royal Family Ernest Brooks. O.B.E. " There should be a way of getting a better file format on that, but I cannot work it! Also can anyone actually find the "offending" photo of Prince of Wales in bathrobe and wig - if it existed, the British Royals have done a jolly good job at removing it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
generalist Posted 28 March , 2012 Share Posted 28 March , 2012 An edition of Strand Magazine in 1921 click- has an article entitled "KING AND THE PRINCE OF WALES, THE. Some Intimate and Amusing Anecdotes of the Royal Family Ernest Brooks. O.B.E. " There should be a way of getting a better file format on that, but I cannot work it! Also can anyone actually find the "offending" photo of Prince of Wales in bathrobe and wig - if it existed, the British Royals have done a jolly good job at removing it! Remarkable! That's the raw text from a Google scan - one which, weirdly, isn't available via Google Books. The epub has some images, though apparently not the offending one. I'll work through it this week and see what turns up... Thanks. -Andrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 29 March , 2012 Share Posted 29 March , 2012 I found how to get the readable versions, you can get that chunk of 6 months click this link I warn you it is a big file to download but it is in a readable form with photos, but the "offending" photo is not there, though he does include many remarkable photos of the royal family. The magazine is from 1921 so would not have had that photo anyway, and the Royal family were not upset enough with him at that stage, as he lasted 3 or 4 more yeas before losing his gongs. The index to the various files and file sizes available are on this link. It is not designed for easy browsing, but is a good way of getting the files you want I would still like to see the offending photo if anyone comes across it. It appears to have been taken when P of W returned from South America Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
generalist Posted 29 March , 2012 Share Posted 29 March , 2012 I found how to get the readable versions, you can get that chunk of 6 months click this link I warn you it is a big file to download but it is in a readable form with photos, but the "offending" photo is not there, though he does include many remarkable photos of the royal family. The magazine is from 1921 so would not have had that photo anyway, and the Royal family were not upset enough with him at that stage, as he lasted 3 or 4 more yeas before losing his gongs. The index to the various files and file sizes available are on this link. It is not designed for easy browsing, but is a good way of getting the files you want I would still like to see the offending photo if anyone comes across it. It appears to have been taken when P of W returned from South America It's an enormous PDF, certainly, but there's also a Wodehouse story in there for entertainment :-) The article doesn't quite gel with the biographical details in his RN file (at least according to my notes - I've lost the scan), which gave a date of birth in 1878 not "early seventies". He seems to have briefly served in the 3rd Dragoon Guards, 1892 onwards, and then in the Glamorganshire Yeomanry until at least 1902 - would any of these records be traceable, or is there anywhere it can be confirmed? He gives his regimental number in the Yeomanry as #1, A Squadron, but I know nothing at all about their numbering schemes... -Andrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 29 March , 2012 Share Posted 29 March , 2012 There is a service record of a Ernest Brooks in FindMyPast. He joins 3rd Dragoon Guards and buys his way out in 1897, which I assume is he. He gives age as 16 and a bit in 1892, indicating a DOB of about 1876 (if he were telling the truth then) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
generalist Posted 30 March , 2012 Share Posted 30 March , 2012 There is a service record of a Ernest Brooks in FindMyPast. He joins 3rd Dragoon Guards and buys his way out in 1897, which I assume is he. He gives age as 16 and a bit in 1892, indicating a DOB of about 1876 (if he were telling the truth then) Hurrah! It looks like he was, at least at this point. I've traced him in the 1901 census, when he was with the Vivians in Wales - specifically, Swansea, which would explain why the Glamorgan Yeomanry! Occupation butler, unmarried, aged 25, born Kingston Bagpuize, Berks. He's in the 1891 census at Windsor aged 15, labourer, and - assuming it's him - in the 1881 one at Draycott Moor, where it says he was born. The ages for all three match with an 1876 birth, though he may have misrepresented (or misremembered) the bit about being born at Windsor. Can't seem to find him in 1911, though - perhaps he was trailing around after royalty at this point :-) -Andrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 13 January , 2017 Author Share Posted 13 January , 2017 There are some of Brooks' photographs featured in the exhibition War in the Sunshine which has been pointed out elsewhere already by Gareth & Trajan http://www.estorickcollection.com/exhibitions/ https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2017/jan/12/first-world-war-italy-pictures-photography In the text essay accompanying the exhibition, Jonathan Black of Kingston University sheds a little light on what may have been the reason for Brooks having dropped from favour…........ …..........Brooks had been a soldier before, in the second Boer war. ‘He acquired a reputation for impetuous, even reckless, courage which came to greatly irritate his army superiors’,................ (after Italy [?]) Brooks transferred to the western front, and developed a drink problem that would eventually lead to him losing his royal warrant and OBE........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 13 January , 2017 Share Posted 13 January , 2017 (edited) This is why Brooks ended up losing his award. On April 6 1925 at Croydon Magistrates Court he was fined £2-00 for Insulting behaviour, £2 for Wilful damage and had to pay the victim £1 10s 0d compensation. In addition he had to pay court costs. He was also deprived of his rank of Honorary Lieutenant by the War Office. There is a mention in his file at TNA about the possible removal of his British War and Victory medals, but there is no mention of this being carried out. : Edited 14 January , 2017 by Terry_Reeves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaureenE Posted 14 January , 2017 Share Posted 14 January , 2017 What gross behaviour, but also completely irrational given the likely consequences. which subsequently happened. 11 hours ago, michaeldr said: ...and developed a drink problem that would eventually lead to him losing his royal warrant and OBE........... It sounds likely to me that his heavy drinking had caused brain damage which resulted in inappropriate behaviour (possibly Korsakoff's syndrome?) The Wikipedia page for Korsakoff's syndrome says "Research has also suggested that Korsakoff patients have impaired executive functions, which can lead to behavioral problems" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korsakoff's_syndrome The article mentioned in post 12 can be read online "KING AND THE PRINCE OF WALES, THE. Some Intimate and Amusing Anecdotes of the Royal Family Ernest Brooks. O.B.E. " Page 204 The Strand Magazine July-December 1921 Cheers Maureen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 14 January , 2017 Author Share Posted 14 January , 2017 Thank you Terry & Maureen for your comments and for the links I feel certain that you have finally uncovered the real reason behind the honour's cancellation/annulment/erasure A very sad conclusion to the career of someone who had contributed so much (see op – perhaps 10% of Great War photographs) to what we know of 1914-1918 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 23 February , 2022 Author Share Posted 23 February , 2022 This is Brooks' early RNVR record held by the NA. Has anyone come across any other record covering his time at the Dardanelles & Gallipoli? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Kelly Posted 22 April Share Posted 22 April I found this fascinating exchange while researching the life of Ernest Brooks (WW1 photographer) for a biography I am writing. My name is Patricia Kelly and Ernest is my maternal grandfather. Please let me know if any of you would like any more information about him and his work and I'll be pleased to reply. I note that a couple of you have been unable to find his photograph of the Prince of Wales dressed in a wig and kimono, which so annoyed the royals. He was performing in a farce called "The Bathroom Door" on board the Royal Yacht Renown in 1919. You can find three pictures of the event if you search under "The Bathroom Door Prince of Wales" and go to the Shutterstock item. It is extremely sad to see how most likely his life's experiences took a toll on him, which led to many lapses in judgement. PK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 23 April Author Share Posted 23 April Patricia, welcome to the GWF and good luck with the biography of your grandfather I haven't found the Shutterstock item, however 'Alamy' have this one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Kelly Posted 23 April Share Posted 23 April https://www.shutterstock.com/editorial/image-editorial/programme-farce-'the-bathroom-door'-performed-onboard-565546a Hi Michael, Here is the link. Thanks for your reply! Patricia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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