MS 1003

Reference code

MS 1003

Title

Spielmann family World War I papers

Level

Sub-fonds

Administrative / Biographical history

The Spielmann family was a prominent Anglo-Jewish family in Britain. Sir Isidore Spielmann (1854–1925) was a distinguished art critic, journalist, and cultural figure of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He wrote extensively on art and international exhibitions and was knighted for his contributions to cultural diplomacy. Sir Isidore moved in prominent intellectual circles in London and also contributed war literature for the Propaganda Department of the Ministry of Information during World War I. He married Emily Sebag-Montefiore, and they had five children.

Their second son, Captain Harold Lionel Isidore Spielmann (1893–1915), was educated at Clifton College and Pembroke College, Cambridge. A member of the Officers’ Training Corps, he volunteered for foreign service at the outbreak of the war and was commissioned into the 10th Manchester Regiment. He landed in Turkey in July 1915 and was killed in action during the Gallipoli Campaign on 13 August 1915.

Date

1914-2014

Extent & medium

4 items

Content description

This sub-fonds documents the World War I military service of members of the Spielmann family, with a particular focus on Captain Harold L. I. Spielmann of the 10th Manchester Regiment (T.F.). It includes a privately printed family record of wartime service, detailing male family members who served, those killed or wounded, and providing biographical information. Also included is a memorial volume compiled by the family to commemorate Captain Harold Spielmann’s life, military service, and death at Gallipoli in 1915, featuring correspondence, official reports, letters of condolence, family tributes, news cuttings, obituaries, and photographs. The sub-fonds is completed by modern colour photographs of Pink Farm cemetery near Gallipoli, including Captain Harold Spielmann’s grave, capturing the enduring commemoration of his service