Active Service Jottings

Douglas Arthur Chambers joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1915. He took three sketchbooks with him and documented his time in the army, from training in the UK to service on the Somme. This book follows his journey through training and then active service and details his experiences, and how he felt about them, in picture form. We see the ideal compared with the reality of everyday events, on and off duty, and relationships with his fellow soldiers and his superiors. The book also shows some of his service records through certificates and army forms together with some background of Douglas'' life as a draughtsman/artist before and after the war. There are examples of some of the views he painted, in both England and France, compared with the views as they appear today. This book documents a unique record made by a serving soldier of life in all its rawness in WW1. See more