Sybil Wolcott

Creator: Appleton, Sybil (1899-1973)

The collection includes materials created and/or collected by Oliver Wolcott and Sybil Appleton, documenting their experiences in the American Field Service and American Committee for Devastated France, respectively, during World War I. Most of Oliver Wolcott’s materials are in their original formats, while most of the material related to Appleton consists of photocopies of originals.

Original Oliver Wolcott materials in the collection include the collar insignia of the French Automobile Service (red embroidery on brown felt) from 1916. The collection also includes original letters of Oliver Wolcott to his mother Edith Prescott during the same period. Other materials in the collection include a 1993 transcription of these letters, edited with an introduction by Wolcott’s son, Oliver Wolcott, Jr., a matted reproduction of a sepia-toned photograph of Wolcott in uniform in 1917, and high quality photocopies of pages from a photographic album depicting SSU 2 in World War I.

There is also an original handwritten diary containing entries from February to July 1916, when Wolcott served with Section Sanitaire [Etats-] Unis (SSU) 2 of the American Field Service (AFS.) During this period, he was stationed in or visited places such as Verdun, Bar-le-Duc, Souilly, and Revigny in France. The diary begins with a description of the boat voyage over to Europe with a group of other AFS drivers, and includes descriptions of locations they visited while overseas, troop movements, gas attacks, weaponry, aviation equipment, experiencing being shelled by German troops, interactions with both civilians and servicemen, and his time off-duty. This diary also contains straightforward and detailed descriptions of injuries and death.

Original Sybil Appleton materials in the collection include eleven photographic prints and eleven negatives taken by Appleton during the course of her work with the American Committee for Devastated France (ACDF) from March to August in 1921. Images include ruins, landscapes, and shots of a Croix-de-Guerre ceremony. The collection also includes a high quality photocopy of Appleton’s photo album, containing many images of women working in France with ACDF. There are photocopies of Appleton’s letters to her mother, written between March and August 1921, and a photocopy of Appleton’s diary from January-September 1921. The most detailed entries in the diary are dated before Appleton’s time in France. In France, Appleton made a few sporadic entries. Finally, there is a photocopy of a 1922 pamphlet describing the work of the American Committee for Devastated France, a photocopy of a 1922 note to Appleton from noted landscape designer Fletcher Steele, and a photocopy of an extract from 1921 Minutes of the Municipal Council of Mairie de Coucy-la-Ville, France, expressing happiness for the work completed by the Comite? Ame?ricain pour les Re?gions De?vaste?es (known as the American Committee for Devastated France in English.)

http://archon.afs.org/?p=collections/findingaid&id=41&q&rootcontentid=117 I.S. 1/11/2018