By Victoria Evans, Searchroom Archivist
The joy of a holiday is a longstanding staple of British summertime. That feeling of the anticipation as the holiday grows closer and closer. And being to put aside any troubles for just a week or two allows for a moment to switch off your mind from the everyday routine and to reconnect with yourself and those around you.
In this blog I will be exploring a caravanning holiday that took place in August of 1915 and how it was documented in such a thorough and descriptive manner. The utilisation of scrapbooking plays a big role in how the father, J C Rands, decided to immortalise his family’s holiday. Additionally, Rands built the caravan by hand and the attention to detail of the finishing leap through the page; painted yellow and red, the windows were adorned with white lace curtains, and the brass work was glistening.
This holiday took the family through three counties over two weeks: Surrey, Sussex, and Hampshire. Starting from their hometown of Surbiton the family and their coachman (affectionately referred to as ‘Buff’ (as in Buffalo Bill)) they set off with curious eyes from their neighbourhood. As you can see from the map below the route was very well planned and camping spots were already organised beforehand.
This scrapbook was neatly broken down each leg of the holiday into chapters. Chapter I documents their ride through Leatherhead, Norbury Park, Box Hill, Dorking and then stopping to stay for two nights in Capel. Chapter II starts in typical British summertime fashion: the weather did not look promising as rain set in. The party decided to explore the farmhouse of the land they were staying on and relax at the camp after the rain had ceased.
In Chapter III the party made their way into Sussex and the first stop was Slinfold, then onto Billingshurst while admiring the rural sights of the village, and finally they made their way to Pulborough where they stayed overnight. Taken by its charm the party planned to stay here for two nights and they spent the daytimes rowing on the river Arun.
In Chapter V they moved on from Pulborough and continued their trip into Fittleworth, then Petworth and Cowdray Park. They then stopped in Midhurst where their next campsite was. In Chapter VI the party decided to explore Cowdray Castle where they found a rare species of moth, the Death’s-Head Hawk moth.
Moving on from Midhurst, the convoy had set their sights on Bramshott via Petersfield. This routed ensured that their horse did not tire too much on steep inclines. They soon arrived at their next campsite, Manor Farm, and here they met a fellow caravaning family. Two of the family members rode by bike to Haslemere as they could not resist the quaint charms of this village.
In the final chapter the father noted how a sombre mood had fallen upon the family, especially the children. The holiday would soon draw to a close as they embarked upon the final part of their journey to Woking, and no one wanted it to end. Spending one final night in their caravan they were soon back on familiar roads in Surbiton and to mark their triumphant return they rode through the village for all to see.
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West Sussex Record Office 
Thanks for sharing this – it was lovely to read. How do items like this scrapbook end up in the Records Office?
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Thank you, Allison! Very pleased to hear you enjoyed reading this post as it was a joy to write. This particular item ended up in our archive in an unusual manner. It was left in a taxi in Manchester and then was transferred to the Record Office via the Novium Museum after all efforts to trace the owner had failed in December 2004. The most common way that items/collections make their way to us is through depositors reaching out to us wanting to preserve the records they hold for future generations. – Vicky
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Thank you- that’s really interesting.
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