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Identifications sought for World War I soldiers' portraits

By JOHN I. CARNEY ~ jcarney@t-g.com
Posted 4/22/18

Do you have an ancestor who served in World War I? Have you ever seen photos of him? If so, The Webb School would like you to take a look at some photos in today's Times-Gazette. During the war, William R. Webb Jr., son of Webb School founder Sawney Webb, was co-principal of the school, and "de facto headmaster," according to Webb history instructor L.R. Smith...

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Identifications sought for World War I soldiers' portraits

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Do you have an ancestor who served in World War I? Have you ever seen photos of him?

If so, The Webb School would like you to take a look at some photos in today's Times-Gazette.

During the war, William R. Webb Jr., son of Webb School founder Sawney Webb, was co-principal of the school, and "de facto headmaster," according to Webb history instructor L.R. Smith.

"He was also a 'Four-Minute Man,'" said Smith; "namely, a volunteer speaker for the Committee On Public Information, which was the all-pervasive government propaganda office in charge of selling the Great War to the American public."

***'Four-Minute Men'

The speakers were called "Four-Minute Men" because the prepared speeches given to them by the Committee On Public Information were about that length, and could be delivered at movie theaters while the reels were being changed.

As an official representative of the war effort, Webb could purchase glass "magic lantern" slides about the war which could be shown to illustrate his talks to churches, clubs and schools. In the days before electronic media, such presentations were one way for the public to keep up with the progress of the conflict. They also served as a way to convince the public to buy war bonds.

Will Webb, or "Son Will" as he was sometimes called, also used his talks to pass along information about local Bedford County citizens who were in the service, whether it was good news or bad.

The school still has hundreds of the slides from Webb's presentations, plus the magic lantern he used to show them.

***Portraits

Among those hundreds of war slides are nearly 30 portraits, many of them bearing the imprint of Dury's, a photography shop and studio in Nashville. Smith assumes that these slides are primarily of local residents mentioned by Will Webb in his talks. The archives contain some of Will's notes, and so the school has a few of the names he mentioned in his talks, but only one of the slides is identified: "Jim Arnold, First Bell Buckle Boy Killed In France."

Smith suggested that if the photos were published in the Times-Gazette, some family members might recognize them, or even have copies of the same photos in their family collections, and might be able to help the school identify the photos. The photos can be viewed in a gallery above.

Here are some notes in which Webb mentions specific soldiers, who may -- or may not -- be included among the photos.

***William Houston Haynes

"Lieutenant William Houston Haynes, son of A.L. Haynes. Born at Poplin's Cross Roads, Bedford County. Volunteered for 22nd Infantry and was in service on the Mexican Border for two years. He is now in France. He volunteered to lead a raid into the German trenches and killed 12 Germans and brought back one prisoner. He was wounded severely in the head July 18th, 1916, and it has been rumored through the county that he was killed. We are glad to report that this is an error, as his wife received a letter from him last Saturday (Aug. 17th, 1918) saying that he was not so badly wounded as at first thought, that he was rapidly recovering and expected to be back in the service within a short while."

***H.H. McClanahan

"Cadet H.H. McClanahan, born May 14th, 1868, at Hampshire, Maury County, Tennessee. Educated at Haynes McLean Preparatory School, Lewisburg, Tennessee, and at Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee. Entered the service in January 1918. Was killed at Park Field, Memphis, June 20th, 1918. Would have received his commission as First Lieutenant in a few days."

***Robert S. Wade

"Robert S. Wade of Unionville, Tenn., joined the Army 14 years ago at the age of 20. He saw service in the Philippines and has been in France since Oct. 1917. He is a 1st Lieut. of the 23rd Inf. American E.F. He was severely wounded June 11th, 1918, but has written his mother that he is recovering. Because of his act of bravery he has been recommended for a captaincy."

If you have information about any of the photos, contact L.R. Smith at The Webb School, lrsmith@webbschool.com.