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Incredible WWI “Mine Squadron One” Photo Album!


siege1863
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Here is another case of an ebay item not properly identified and undervalued. The photo album was described as being WWII because of a few loose War Department papers found inside. The seller made that assumption that the man was aboard the ship, the USS SARANAC, during the period (1943-45) indicated on the papers. Well, the man was in fact was a civilian employee working in a Quartermaster warehouse and the papers related to his upgrade in position and pay. When the seller researched the ship, she identified the wrong one. She was looking at the WWII fleet oiler.

 

One give-away she was off is found in the heading on the cover–“World War.” Another would be the dates on many of the photos–1918. Others might have noted the use of the term “Huns” in the writings contained in the album. The ship is in fact the USS SARANAC, which was a converted steamer assigned to Mine Force One. It was one of ten US mine planters that helped lay the 50,000+ anti-submarine mines in the North Sea. The operation was also called the North Sea Barrage or Northern Barrage.

 

This album contains over 100 photos, many done as real-photo postcards. There are roughly identified by location or subject. One series is from Boston Harbor (June 1918), where the ship rendezvoused with others before sailing for Scotland. The next series is titled “On the way over.” Then there is a set “Over here” showing scenes from Inverness and Invergordon, the two bases for the fleet. The greatest number are of the mining excursions. One small set I particularly like shows loading of the mines aboard ship and the sequence as they are planted in the water! Finally, there are almost two dozen images of the German and British fleets at Scapa Flow. On December 1, when the Squadron was headed back to the US, they passed in review of the British Grand Fleet and the interned German fleet.

 

Perhaps as significant as the photos is a ten-page “log” of the SARANAC’s day-to-day activities from May 23 to November 11, 1918. There are also some poems and a transcribed newspaper story about the mining operations.

 

In the back of the album are about another forty photos of the sailor and his family back home. In one he is holding up an issue of a Victory newspaper. This was likely kept by the family until his return.

 

Based on the wording on the album cover, the larger format (4 x 5 ½) photos, and the typed log and poems, I wonder if this may not have been the ship’s “official” album that somehow ended up in the hands of the sailor. His family photos only appear on the last few pages of the album and are not attached in the same careful way.

 

For those interested, the sailor was Curtis C. Beetham from Maryland. He entered the Navy June 5, 1917. He was assigned to the Mine Force program at Newport, Rhode Island, November 26, 1917. He came aboard the SARANAC March 31, 1918, and was discharged January 18, 1919. From available information, it appears he was one of the “electricians” who handled, activated, and planted the mines.

 

post-211-1255621597.jpg

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Neat item. Of the 50,000 mines placed, one wonders if any of them are still out there.

 

It had to be quite an operation to recover all of them after the war and it had to be be a challenge to locate them given the technology of the day.

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teufelhunde.ret

Truly a remarkable "save". Would have been a shame to see this split up in the winds. What do you make of the group shot bottom of post 4? :think: s.f Darrell

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Truly a remarkable "save". Would have been a shame to see this split up in the winds. What do you make of the group shot bottom of post 4? :think: s.f Darrell

 

The notation reads "Electricians and electrical officer...." Penciled in the center of the photo is the word "here," identifying Beetham. He is the one who looks a little like a young Boris Karloff! Some of the men in this group are seen in the photos of the mines being brought aboard. Also, among the misc. paperwork to come with the album are notes about Beetham's education, military service, and civilian jobs. From 1915 to 1917, when he joined the navy, he studied Engineering at Johns Hopkins University!

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If you get a chance to rescan some of those at higher resolution there could be some nice closeup reference shots of WWI sailors at work, something that is hard to find. I pulled out a couple of sections, enlarged them and adjusted the white balance. If you do this with an photo scanned at high resolution you won't see the digital artifacts that are in these examples. All-in-all that's quite a find.

 

mine1.jpg

 

mine2.jpg

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This fellow is completely out of place with this group :think:

 

I believe he is one of the Petty Officers. He has a double row of buttons on his coat and the hat is styled differently from the senior officers. His rate cannot be seen because it is obscured by the sailor standing next to him.

 

post-211-1255634607.jpg

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Wonderful find! The top image in post #5 looks like the High Seas Fleet after it was interned (battle cruisers and lighter cruisers?)....really an historic album.

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USS Saranac related. I believe this to be a picture of the photo album owner's division. Couple of the same men in it for sure. Taken from the book " The Northern Barrage, Mine Force United States Atlantic Fleet"

post-1949-1255641429.jpg

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Wonderful find! The top image in post #5 looks like the High Seas Fleet after it was interned (battle cruisers and lighter cruisers?)....really an historic album.

 

Spot on. Two Koening Class battleships and a Koeiningsberg Class light cruiser.

 

Nice photo album !!

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All four photos in Post 5 were taken at Scapa Flow. I hope to identify as many of the ships as possible. I have maps showing the anchorage and will try to match the vantage points and ship classes.

 

After having won the photo album, I purchased a near mint copy of "The Northern Barrage." Seven of the photos in the SARANAC section of the book appear in the album.

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I believe he is one of the Petty Officers. He has a double row of buttons on his coat and the hat is styled differently from the senior officers. His rate cannot be seen because it is obscured by the sailor standing next to him.

 

post-211-1255634607.jpg

He's a Chief Petty Officer, look at the hat badge. Love the guys in the original dungarees.

 

Steve Hesson

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A few more scanned at a higher resolution and in grayscale...

 

GS_1x.jpg

 

There is a lot of detail remaining in those photos. This one looks like it was taken yesterday! It's lucky that scanning technology has come along just as these items are beginning to fade.

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