German prisoners of war, one in drag, propose a toast during a performance at Leigh prisoner of war camp, Lancashire. Photographic postcard by H. Attenborough, 191-.

Theaterverein P/W camp. Leigh. "Alt Heidelberg"

Download the full-sized image of German prisoners of war, one in drag, propose a toast during a performance at Leigh prisoner of war camp, Lancashire. Photographic postcard by H. Attenborough, 191-.

The man in drag is hoisted up in the centre of the stage, as lots of male characters lift their tankards. At the start of 1914 the Lilford Weaving Company began building a new mill in Leigh, Lancashire. But when the First World War broke out, half of the completed mill buildings were taken over by the British Government. In 1915 they were turned into a prisoner of war camp to house captured German servicemen. This is one of a series of postcards produced for German prisoners to send home: it shows a group re-enacting the popular German operetta 'Alt Heidelberg' by Wilhelm Meyer-Förster

Part of James Gardiner Collection: photographs of military, naval, and prisoner-of-war camp drag.

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View At: https://wellcomelibrary.org/item/b20440881
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Item Information:

Identifier: 8c97kq694
Collection: James Gardiner 20th Century Drag Postcards
Institution: Wellcome Library
Date Issued: 1910 to 1919?
Genre: Photographs
Prints
Topic(s): Female impersonators
Resource Type: Still Image
Analog Format: 1 photograph : photoprint ;
Rights: Copyright undetermined
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