A World War I China Marine

[Dirk]

Here is a recent China Marine acquisition that I would like to share with you all. I am attributing almost all of these images in this thread to a Pvt Fenton Harrell whose tour of duty with the Marines ran from 1916 through 1919. As with many albums, this one required a bit of detective work to determine the initial creator. However, thanks to a few pieces of Ephemera shoved into the back of the album, I am reasonably certain Harrell was the original owner. Although, I've not even begun the process of sending to NARA for his records a few on-line databases gave a great starting point to decipher the album and understand Pvt Harrell's history. Harrell was born 21 Aug 1897 to U.G. and Mary Harrell of Oakland, Ca. At age fourteen he was confirmed in his local catholic parish. The following year he ran away from home to pursue a career as an actor. Fortunately, for us his mother quickly tracked him down in Fresno and brought him back home. An interesting side-note on the same page of the newspaper that carried the account of young Fenton's attempt to join the stage, another article noted Melrose Police Captain Thorwald Brown was about to pursue a second career as a lawyer. As we will see at the end of this thread, Harrell and Brown would cross paths many years later.

 

On 21 Jan 1916 Fenton applied to join the Marine Corps and was assigned to Company A at the Mare Island Recruit Depot. Following a two month training program and a few months assignment to the Staff at Mare Island, he received orders sending him to the Marine Detachment in Peking. Fenton embarked in June aboard the USAT Sherman and a month later arrived in the Philippines. After spending 10 days in the Quarantine at the US Navy Hospital Canaco for some still TBD illness, he was well enough to leave for Peking in mid-July where he was assigned to the 39th Company. During the first part of Pvt Harrell's tour he served as a telephone orderly, but later as we shall see changed duties.

 

Although I am not 100% positive, I believe this is Private Harrell on guard at the Tartar wall.

[Dirk]

The Peking Harrell found on his arrival had changed significantly since the 1911-12 revolution. First, although a civil war had recently ended, tensions were still high between the Republicans, Nationalists and Imperialists. Second, WWI had begun and the fast paced social and party circuit slowed down significantly in the Legation Quarter as the great powers divided into opposing camps. Additionally as a result of the Would War, the various legation guards were not getting along. German guards frequently fought with their French and English counterparts and later during Harrell's period the Americans. Third, Japan taking advantage of the war used it as an opportunity to issue it's "21 Demands" that would have reduced China to a dependency of Japan. It was also during this period that many of the great powers reduced their guard numbers in the quarter. Now the American guard was the largest. I guess as an expression of it's size check out this large US flag flying over Guard Post #1.

[Dirk]

There were also changes to the Marine compound. Perhaps the biggest physical change was the Marine compound was now landscaped and even had pet deer running inside it's gates. This shot faces the Commandants quarters.

[Dirk]

In addition to the landscaping, the old west barracks was torn down and replaced with a new multi-story barrack. Here is a nice shot of the quartermaster overseeing the construction of the building and constructing the company road. For those that track such details, I am still not 100% certain when this building was finally completed and occupied...1919 or 19120. Col Nevilles album at the Alfred Gray Center shows large amounts of lumber being pre-positioned for construction sometime in 1917. Harrell's album has a whole series of images of the construction from foundation laying to this shot.

[Dirk]

Up on the Tartar Wall, and beside a large pole that was used to fly a warning flag to Americans living in the native portions of the city, advising them when to seek shelter in the Legation Quarter, a new radio mast was installed. I think this allowed them to now communicate with the Philippines

[Dirk]

A company formed up on the American Glacis. Harrell's album contains a whole series of images of this company as it performed drill that same day.

[Dirk]

When you compare Harrell's album to Col Neville's album from roughly the same period you note, while they sometimes chose to record similar events, each could ignore other events that one might consider significant during this period. In January 1916 President Yuan Shikai who we last met after becoming president in 1912 died, followed a year later by an attempt to restore the young Manchu Empire Puyi to power. It seems like almost 1/3 of Nevilles' album is dedicated to images of the grand funeral held for President Yuan in which Neville marched along side represnetatives from other nations. A another section, Neville provided snapshots of the fighting that occurred with the attempted Manchu restoration. This image, courtesy of the Alfred Gray Center shows Marines peering through the iron gates on Legation street as they watched the fighting between the Republicans and the Imperialists. If you remember from my earlier thread this area was sandbagged and defended with a Colt Machine Gun.

[Dirk]

Although Harrell dedicates a portion of his album to a Chinese military event in the Forbidden City and various Allied nations on patrol/parade, he seems most content to capture lighter events. Here is a classic image of Marine's outside their local club drinking 5 Star Brand beer so popular with Marines through 1941.

[Dirk]

Here they are wearing those early winter hats...note no EGA is present....that came in the 1920's.

[Dirk]

This shot shows Marines participating in some type of Red Cross parade that ended with a fair on the diplomatic portion of the American compound. Note the 2nd car, they are also Marines but with blackened faces....during this era and keeping with behaviors back home, "mistral" shows were popular entertainment. In fact the Marines in Peking put on such a show every year during the 1920's. Clearly, that custom has long since been frowned upon and has gone away.

[Dirk]

Although a Marine band, seen here marching in the Legation Quarter, was established as early as 1911, it grew in size during our era....here we see its long serving director 1st Sgt Norman Siegrist leading the way .

[Dirk]

Here is "Bunny" one of the Guard mascots standing on a drum....Darrell would you want that EGA for your collection?

[Dirk]

This image from a series, shows Marines, civilians and Chinese nationals watching a baseball game on the glacis. Neville's album shows a great number of images highlighting "opening day" ceremonies, complete with the marine band leading the players. Note several band members in attendance in this crowd.

[Dirk]

It was suprising for me to learn that many times the Legation Guard would take 90 mile hikes from Peking to the great wall...I knew they did this regularly between 1909 and 1911, but was suprised to see it being done again in the late teens...here is a private shot of marines near the Nankou pass section of the wall...the closest point the wall comes to Peking

[Dirk]

In Jan 1919, Fenton was selected to join the Horse Marines....as you may remember from my earlier thread, a mounted detachment was formed between January and February 1912. And during the riot 29 Feb 1912, even embarked on a operational sortie that took them across the city. Although a 1913 Thanksgiving Day menu shows they were still active, I think according to Clark they were disbanded for a few years. This image shows them in 1919. Note they are shown here wearing their blues, with 1912 pattern bell crowns, but still lack sabers.

[Dirk]

Bear with me on these next few images, although unremarkable by themselves, collectively I think they do show a nice cross section of early horse marine actives, uniforms, equipment and accouterments. Here we see the detachment parading through Peking. This was taken as a part of a series of privately made images showing representatives of each of the Allied nations marching outside the legation quarter.

[Dirk]

This is a nice shot of some of the equipage for their horses.

[Dirk]

Here are a few shots of them in the field....during this period, China was not able to object to foreign soldiers patrolling the countryside outside of their capital, so the area they could operate was far wider then after the nationalists took over in 1928 and later the Japanese in 1937.

[Dirk]

Sadly this image is badly faded, but I wanted to point out the uniform combination....field hat with dress jacket and winter service breeches. Also note the small ammo pouch on their belts...a standard item for Legation Guard Marine through 1941.

[Dirk]

A very nice shot of some of the men, now dismounted. Note the goggles and company letters being worn on the field hats. Although we know the Mounted Detachment fell under the HQ Company, back during this period, men could be assigned to mounted duty, while still remaining on their line company rosters.

[Dirk]

And lastly, here is Pvt Henry T. Weeks, winter 1918-1919 shown "mounted for patrol duty, city of Peking." Harrell's album has some really nice shots of this style of fur hat being worn.

[Dirk]

Harrell left Peking by rail for Chinwangtao on 16 Nov 1919, subsequently boarded the USAT Crook bound for the PI and the United States. Fenton returned to Mare Island and was discharged Jan 1920. But several months later returned to the Marines for another tour....this time leaving as a corporal in 1925. He later became an Oakland policeman and his name appears several times in that city's newspaper. However, in 1931 he was dismissed from the force along with another officer for allegedly standing by and watching while a member of the vice and morals squad beat his own wife. The police chief who dismissed him...Thorwald Brown! I believe Harrell eventually returned to law enforcement and did some type of shore patrol duty during WWII. Fenton Harrell died 19 Apr 1965 and is interned at the Golden Gate National Cemetery. Here he is as an older man....this rough drawing was found stuffed into the back of the album.

[Bob Hudson]

Sadly this image is badly faded, but I wanted to point out the uniform combination....field hat with dress jacket and winter service breeches. Also note the small ammo pouch on their belts...a standard item for Legation Guard Marine through 1941.

 

Great photos!

 

This may show those details a little better:

 

[Bob Hudson]

And lastly, here is Pvt Henry T. Weeks, winter 1918-1919 shown "mounted for patrol duty, city of Peking." Harrell's album has some really nice shots of this style of fur hat being worn.

 

Pvt Weeks very much looks Chinese.

[Dirk]

Bob: Thanks for the comment and the image darkening....you have to teach me that skill!

 

Your right he does look Chinese but that was one of the few images that had writting on the back ID'ing Weeks.....BobGee thought the same as you....