By Nicole Milano and Johnamarie Macias
Title: Charles H. Horton Collection, 1944-1945
ID: RG2/030
Creator: Horton, Charles H. (Charles Henry) (b. 1917)
Extent: 0.33 Cubic Feet. More info below.
Arrangement: This collection is partially processed. The photographs and original films are stored in Box 1, and the reformatted versions of the films are stored in Box 2, all arranged by size.
Date Acquired: 00/00/1995
Languages: English
Charles Henry Horton was an ambulance driver with the American Field Service (AFS) during World War II. The Charles H. Horton Collection contains several photographs, an 8 mm film documenting some of the activities of AFS in Italy and France, and a second 8 mm film documenting AFS ambulance drivers assisting the British forces after the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany during World War II.
The Charles H. Horton Collection contains thirteen photographs of American Field Service ambulance drivers in Italy, including pictures of a monastery north of Forli used as a Casualty Clearing Station (CCS), and Horton with fellow drivers at the Regimental Aid Post (RAP) in Monte Grande. The photographs are 3 ½” x 5” black and white prints, and most were captioned (verso) by Horton.
The collection also includes two 8mm films taken by Horton during the war. The first includes scenes taken while in Italy and France in 1944 and 1945. The original 8 mm film is in color and contains around 5 ½ minutes of footage, including scenes of the Regimental Aid Post in Monte Grande, Casualty Clearing Stations, landscape views (of the mountain ridge in Italy held by the British, and of the white cliffs of Dover, England), ambulance drivers (including Horton and Norman Shethar), and the 567 Company transfer to Marseilles on the LSTs (tank landing ships.) The film was reformatted into a VHS and miniDV by the AFS Archives staff, and the reformatted versions are included in the collection. The second film depicts the American Field Service drivers at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they helped British forces assist camp prisoners after the liberation on April 15, 1945. The original 8 mm film is in color and contains about 6 ½ minutes of footage, which includes scenes of the entrance gate to the camp, Hungarian stretcher bearers loading prisoners into AFS ambulances, the line of German SS officers (who were transported out of the camp in AFS ambulances), and the final burning of the camp after the evacuation of the prisoners was complete. The film was reformed into a VHS, DVD, and miniDV by the AFS Archives staff, and the reformatted versions are included in the collection.
Alternate Extent Statement: 2 boxes
Access Restrictions: This collection is open for research. Cotton gloves are required for the handling of all photographic material. The original 8 mm films cannot be viewed in the AFS Archives, and permission to view the reformatted versions must be obtained from the AFS Archives in advance.
Use Restrictions: Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be submitted in writing to the Archives. In the event that this research becomes a source for publication, a credit line indicating the Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs is required. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.
Acquisition Method: The Charles H. Horton Collection was donated to the Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs by Charles H. Horton in January 1995.
Appraisal Information: No items were deaccessioned, separated, or removed from the collection.
Preferred Citation: [Identification of item], [Date]; Charles H. Horton Collection; Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs, New York, NY.
Processing Information: This collection was partially processed by AFS Archives staff at an unknown date, and again by Johnamarie Macias and Nicole Milano in May 2011. Preliminary finding aid written by Johnamarie Macias and Nicole Milano in 2011 and encoded in EAD by Nicole Milano in May 2011 under the scope of the 2010-2011 Basic Processing grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
