CHINA.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Album of photographs compiled by W. J. Jordan, a petty officer cook serving on the China station with HMS Dorsetshire. A well-preserved collection, divided into sections concerning naval life in Weihaiwei and other ports and the Sino-Japanese hostilities. The lead in its class, HMS Dorsetshire was launched in 1929 and, following refitting, served on the China station with the 5th Cruiser Squadron from 1936 until the general outbreak of war in 1939.The album is a combination of personal snapshots and occasional professional compositions. It opens with photographs of Weihaiwei, including of the naval canteen, the China fleet moored in the bay, and the Ah Fong photography studio on main street. Others show the port in winter 1938, several snowmen in evidence, fleet and gunnery exercises, and the crew's victories in the Weihaiwei football competition and the China station's pulling regattas. One studio image shows their bevy of trophies, foremost among them the coveted Yokohama Bowl. In Shanghai, Jordan snapped many of the famous vistas and sights.The second half is focused on the Sino-Japanese War, which had been raging since 1937. Photographs of ruined Japanese cotton mills in Qingdao are followed by shots of Japanese troops entering the city to consolidate their control, and others (some perhaps from studios) document the 1937 hostilities in Shanghai, including the burning city skyline. Material on the final four leaves date from after the ship's departure from China.

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