Roundell Tristram Toke diaries and photographs from military service in China and Japan, 1900, 1905-1907

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Summary

Abstract:
Roundell Tristram Toke (1896-1957) was a British Army officer from Folkestone, England who was stationed in China during the Boxer Rebellion, and in Japan during the Russo-Japanese War. Collection comprises diaries and photographs documenting in detail his military service in China and Japan during the Boxer Rebellion, 1900, and Russo-Japanese War, 1905 to 1907. The first diary is set in China; the other three in Japan. All four contain daily descriptions of weather, social and administrative activities, military engagements, rations, medical training, diplomacy, and other details, with some sketches of formations and drill patterns. The diaries are accompanied by 146 photographs from China and Japan. The earlier group shows officers and soldiers from the eight allied nations, ruins and battle sites, and other scenes in Tianjin and Beijing following the Boxer Rebellion, 1900; later images show civilians and street life; military camps; drills; equipment; engagements; Russian war prisoners and their camps; towns; landscapes; harbors; and a few social gatherings. The collection also includes Toke's leather cigar case, inscribed on the inside with his postings with dates, beginning with Weihai, China, 1900.
Extent:
2.0 Linear Feet (4 boxes)
Physical description:
4 diaries; 146 photographs; 1 leather case
Language:
Materials in English
Collection ID:
RL.11647

Background

Scope and content:

Collection comprises autograph manuscript diaries and photographs belonging to British Army officer Roundell Tristram Toke and documenting his service in China and Japan during the Boxer Rebellion, 1900, and Russo-Japanese War, 1905 to 1907. The first diary describes events in China during the Boxer Rebellion, while the last three, January 1905-November 1907, detail his service in Japan as an attache` at the British Embassy in Tokyo and military consultant to the Japanese during and after the Russo-Japanese War. The diaries contain daily descriptions of weather, social and administrative activities, regiment training and drills, military engagements, rations, Japanese prisoner of war camps for the Russians, medical training, foreign diplomacy, and other details. Some contain sketches of formations and drill patterns.

Toke's diaries are accompanied by 146 gelatin silver and some albumen photographs. These images vividly document his time in China and Japan, showing military camps, officers, drills, engagements, landmark battle and burial sites such as 203 Metre Hill, Russian prisoners and their camp, towns, harbors, destroyed railroads and buildings, and Chinese and Japanese civilians. There are a few personal photos of Western women, children, and men. A series of larger images from China depict the destruction in Beijing and Tianjin caused by the conflict of 1900, scenes from interiors and outdoor spaces in Beijing's Forbidden City, and soldiers and officers from various nations.

The collection includes Toke's leather cigar case, inscribed on the inside with his postings with dates, beginning with Wei-Hai-Wei in China, 1900.

Biographical / historical:

Roundell Tristram Toke, who signed his diaries "R.T. Toke," was born in Crewkerne, Somerset, November 9, 1869. He was a British officer, first serving in 1888 in the 4th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment, then in the Welsh Regiment, Chinese Regiment, 1892, rising in rank to Lieutenant Colonel by 1916. In addition to his military service in China and Japan, he served in World War I from 1914-1918, commanding the 6th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, from August 24, 1915-May 3, 1916. Toke died November 23, 1957, in Kent.

After the Russian Empire leased Port Arthur from China for 25 years in March 1898, the United Kingdom pressured the Chinese government into leasing Wei-hai-wei as anchorage for the Royal Navy's China Station and a port of call for ships of the Royal Navy in the Far East. To protect the British interests, a British army regiment was formed consisting of Chinese rank and file under British officers. Among those officers was Captain Toke of the Welsh Regiment, the author of the diaries and the photographer who created the images in this collection.

Acquisition information:
The Roundell Tristram Toke diaries and photographs were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 2018.
Processing information:

Processed and encoded by Paula Jeannet, July 2018.

Accession(s) represented in this collection guide: 2018-0072.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Roundell Tristram Toke diaries and photographs, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.