Laura Bicknell Photograph Album

Collection

Identifier: WV 0668

Staff Only

Content Description

The first part of the album has a number of photos showing women at Hunter College. Enlisted WAVES had been training at several different universities at the outset of the program and Hunter was later chosen as it provided the best facilities to manage such a large number of trainees. Hunter was commissioned February 8, 1943 as “The U.S. Naval Training Center, the Bronx” and became known as the “USS Hunter.” The photos here include portraits and group shots, as well as images of living quarters. At least 120 photos show the women in uniform and at least a dozen show them in mechanic's coveralls. After graduation, Bicknell was an Aviation Machinist's Mate First Class and assigned to the Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, Virginia. Photographs depict the women playing baseball, doing laundry, posing with planes and more.

Dates

circa 1943-1945

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is retained by the creators of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information. Please see our Sensitive Materials Statement.

Biographical / Historical

Laura Bicknell, from Shapleigh, Maine, enlisted with the United States Navy WAVES on May 18, 1943. Bicknell attended Hunter College for boot camp and was later stationed at the Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, Virginia as an Aviation Machinist's First Mate First Class. Bicknell was discharged in August, 1948 but reenlisted in August 1951 and became a WAVES photographer.

Extent

0.42 Linear Feet (1 Photograph Album in a custom Scrapbook Box.)

Language of Materials

English

Metadata Rights Declarations

License: This record is made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Creative Commons license.

Additional Description

Condition Description

Album is very good with light wear and some loss at edges; contents generally near fine or better except for a few photos with holes punched in the border, not affecting image. Two photos missing.

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