David Hampshire collection

Collection – Multiple Containers

Identifier: MS-1257

Staff Only

Collection Overview

Abstract

This collection centers around the work of photographer David Hampshire, who served a U.S. Air Force photographer during the Vietnam War and then worked as a Bowling Green State University staff photographer for 3 decades. Also contains photographs and documents from David’s father’s (George Hampshire, Jr.) service in World War II, as well as family photographs dating to the second half of the 19th century.

Dates

Creation: circa 1840s - 2000s

Extent

2.01 Cubic Feet (1 letter archives box, 2 legal archives boxes, and one oversized flat box)

Content Description

This collection revolves around the life and photographic work of David Hampshire, as well as photographs and documents relating to his father, George Hampshire, Jr.’s time serving in World War II and subsequent life.

This collection is divided into three series in chronological order. The first series (Hampshire Family Photographs) contains early family photographs from circa 1840 to circa 1910; the majority of the photographs from this period are unidentified. Members of the Fike, Brooks, Alwood, and O’dell (also spelled Odell) families, from the Mansfield, Bowling Green, and Cleveland, Ohio areas, are identified .

The second series (George Hampshire, Jr. Photographs and Documents) primarily documents George Hampshire, Jr.’s service during World War II and includes photographs as well as correspondence, maps, and ephemera from his time serving in North Africa.

The third series (David Hampshire Photographs and Documents) is the largest in the collection and contains two subseries. The first subseries documents to Hampshire’s time as an Air Force photographer in the Vietnam War, from 1970-1971. Subjects depicted include military aircraft, aerial maneuvers, military bases, candid street life images from the Saigon region, as well as some images of military conflict.

The second sub-series contains David Hampshire’s post-war photography, and includes some article clippings. Most of the images relate to the Bowling Green State University (BGSU) campus, but also include some still-portraits.

Biographical / Historical

David Hampshire (1948-2018) was born in Findlay, Ohio, and raised in Pemberville, Ohio, the son of George Hampshire Jr., a World War II veteran.

Hampshire served in the Vietnam War, mostly around the Saigon general area, as a United States Air Force photographic technician and photographer from 1971-1972. After serving in the Air Force, Hampshire worked for 33 years as a Bowling Green State University photographer before retiring in 2005. Hampshire died in 2018 at Orchid Villa Nursing Facility in Oregon, Ohio, after living with Alzheimer’s disease.

The Hampshire family has lived in Ohio for many generations.

Conditions Governing Access

No known access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Any original photographs by David Hampshire, when reproduced, require proper credit.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically into 3 series, which have been further arranged in subseries. Due to their number, the unidentified family photographs were arranged into categories including framed images, small portraits, large portraits, images with geographic identifiers, and non-human subject (animals, buildings, etc.) to facilitate access and use. Similarly, David Hampshire’s post-war photography was arranged into categories to provide better access.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The collection was donated to the Center for Archival Collections by Christine Hampshire of Northwood, Ohio, in November 2018.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by John King, Student in HIST 6560, in October 2022.

A substantial number of duplicate photographs included with this collection have been returned to the donor.