Card of the Day: The Memorial Service to Lord Kitchener

The death of Lord Kitchener was one of the defining events of the First World War and shocked Britons and people around the world. The event is commemorated in the set of Wills Cigarette Cards which was produced in 1935 for the Silver Jubilee of King George V and Mary of Teck.


The reverse of the card reads:

THE MEMORIAL SERVICE TO LORD KITCHENER

Few men have been trusted by the British nation as was Lord Kitchener of Khartuom, and the loss of this outstanding personality at the height of the War was felt alike by the King and by the humblest of his subjects. “K. of K.’ went down in the cruiser Hampshire (which was mined or torpedoed off the Orkneys), while on a mission to the Emperor Nicholas of Russia. When the news was received, the blinds were drawn at the War Office and the Admiralty, and many flags were lowered to half-mast. On June 13th, 1916, The King, the Queen, Queen Alexandra and others of the Royal Family drove to a memorial service at St. Paul’s Cathedral attended by 4,000 people.

Oddly enough, the anniversary of that memorial service is tomorrow, June 13. Now, I’m posting these cards in their original order, but this is the second time that the dates of the events depicted have coincided with the present date. How weird.