Litchfield War Records Committee records

2011-15-0

Collection

Identifier: 2011-15-0

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Litchfield War Records Committee records (2011-15-0, 1.88 linear feet) document men and women who served in the armed forces and auxiliary groups from Litchfield, Conn., during World War II. The papers consist of questionaires, photographs, minutes, notes, subject files, correspondence, and ephemera. The largest group of papers are returned questionnaires that list the service person's name, address, date of birth, next of kin, service dates and places, promotions, date and circumstances of discharge, and similar information. Not all questions are answered on every questionnaire by the respondents. In addition to the quesstionnaires are photographs of many service people. Some are professional portraits; others are snapshots. A person may be represented by a questionnaire, a photograph, or both. The collection contains subject files detailing many civil defense and other groups that provided service during the war, such as bond drives, Red Cross, auxiliary state police, and air warning observation posts. Interspersed are topical files, such as "Litchfield's war record" and "Transportation." There is also a small group of organizational records that include meeting minutes, committee member notes, news clippings, other administrative documentation. Click the On-line Images/Records link below to see an inventory listing the names of service personnel and subject files.

Dates

created: 1940-1946
Other: Date acquired: 03/04/2012

Creator

Litchfield War Records Committee (Litchfield, Conn.) (Organization)
Litchfield Historical Society (Litchfield, Conn.) (Organization)
Bull, F. Kingsbury (Frederick Kingsbury), 1884-1968 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of this collection are in the public domain. There are no restrictions on use. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Biographical or Historical Information

The War Records Dept. of the Connecticut State Library (CSL) was established by act of the legislature in 1919 at the end of World War I. It was to "collect, classify, index, and install available material relating to Connecticut's participation, public or private, in the World War." The statute was revised in 1943 to include World War II service. CSL requested all of the historical societies in the state to sponsor a war records committee. The Litchfield Historical Society established its committee at a meeting chaired by F. Kingsbury Bull held on Nov. 12, 1943. The committee established two objectives: one, to compile an accurate and complete record of all men and women from the town serving in the armed forces and auxiliary groups in World War II; and two, to secure photographs in uniform of those in service to form a permanent record with the above list in the files of the Society. During August t through October, 1945, the committee mailed 631 questionnaires to the families of people who had been identified as serving in the war effort. Articles in The Litchfield Enquirer chronicled the progress of the returns, which eventually numbered around 180.

Note written by