[PHOTOGRAPHS - PAKISTAN & INDIA - BRITISH ROYAL AIR FORCE]. EADY, Thomas William George.
[RAF aircraft, pilots, etc. during the Afridi Redshirt Rebellion on Indias North-West Frontier].
[India and Pakistan, especially their border region], 1929-1930. A collection of photographic silver-gelatin prints of aircraft, the squadron, aerial reconnaissance etc., made and compiled by Thomas William George Eady, flying officer of the no. 28 Squadron of the RAF. It comprises 3 photo albums (contemporary with the photos), 53 loose photos (20 x 15 cm, some with manuscript comments on the back), 5 related documents (dated 1928-1932) and a separate photographic portrait of Eady, in total nearly 2000 prints. The first and largest album, covers 1929, oblong folio (30 x 39.5 cm) in blue cloth with brown cord ties, contains 183 prints in various sizes, mounted on 16 brown paper leaves with India ink captions by Eady in English. The second album, oblong 4to (33.5 x 24 cm) in green cloth with brown cord ties, contains 72 prints made during the Afridi Redshirt Rebellion, in various sizes and mounted on 20 brown paper leaves with neat India ink captions in English by Eady. The small third album, oblong small 4to (19 x 27 cm), consisting of 4 brown paper leaves tied together with black cord ties, contains 33 prints in various sizes mounted on the leaves, some duplicating prints in the largest album, with larger captions in black ink, probably not by Eady.
€ 12,500
A collection of photographs, made and compiled by Thomas William George Eady, flying officer in the no. 28 squadron of the British Royal Air Force. The squadron was at that moment based at Risalpur, an aerodrome near Peshawar in Northern Pakistan. The collection contains silver-gelatin prints, photographic snapshots and aerial reconnaissance photographs he made in 1929-1930, during his stay in the North West Frontier region on the India-Pakistan border.
They show the men in their daily activities and the places they visited in their leisure, such as a music saloon in Narkunda and Eadys family(?) while staying at "Uncle Joey" in Madras. It further includes many views of the region, especially of Attock and Risalpur, but also of Bombay, Madras, The Malakand Pass, Bara Valley, snow at Drosh, etc., and shows glimpses of Indian culture. The collection therefore gives many insights into the life of a British Royal Air Force officer in the Indian North West Frontier.
Also interesting are the five related documents in the collection , including a letter from the Air Ministry in London, addressed to Eady and dated 25 May 1928, informing him about practical matters, such as his luggage, the amount of money he should take with him and whether he needs a passport.
Eadys extensive photographic archive, coming from a flying officer for the British Royal Air Force, not only provides highly interesting insights into the Afridi Redshirt Rebellion, but also a detailed record, in images and captions, of the courageous pilots of the no. 28 squadron of the British Royal Air Force, their aircrafts, activities and pastimes on the Indian North West Frontier.
Cloth of the blue album worn around the edges, head and foot of the spine of the green album slightly damaged, some edges of the paper documents a little frayed and some documents slightly foxed and stained, but otherwise a highly interesting collection of photographs in good condition.
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