Spade Collection

Royal Engineers
circa 1850: An officer of the Royal Engineers gives orders to two privates. Rischgitz Collection (Photo by Rischgitz/Getty Images)

Buckets and spades at the seaside
Two little girls on the beach at an unidentified British seaside resort, carrying their buckets and spades. Date: 1950s

Welsh women road builders, South Wales
A group of twenty Welsh women road builders in Pembrokeshire, Dyfed, South Wales, holding their spades. They built the road to Hook in 1903-4 to facilitate transport to the colliery

Dig for Victory poster - WWII
World War Two poster encouraging British civilians to dig for victory, featuring somebody doing just that

Rifle Brigade in position, Western Front - WWI
The First Battalion of the British Rifle Brigade in position close to the German trenches under shell fire - WWI. Date: circa 1915

Picking coal from waste tip during 1921 strike, South Wales
Three men picking coal from a local colliery waste tip during the 1921 strike, South Wales

Gardener from Sense and Sensibility
The gardeners lamentation upon blights, an illustration to Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, first published 1811. Date: 1908

Man with mechanical digger in a muddy field
A man working next to a mechanical Hy-Mac digger in a muddy field. Perhaps the digger has got stuck in the mud, and he is trying to dig it out

DOG. Golden retriever holding spade with sandcastles
JD-21286 DOG. Golden retriever holding spade with sandcastles John Daniels Please note that prints are for personal display purposes only and may not be reproduced in anyway

Ruins of Petworth boys school, 29th September 1942
Buildings after being bombed. Military personnel clearing rubble from bomb site. 29 September 1942. George Garland Collection West Sussex Record Office Ref No: Garland N21852

Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, Tsarevitch, Grand Duchess Tatian
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia pictured with two of his children, the Grand Duchess Tatiana and Alexei, the Tsarevitch, building a fortification from snow in the grounds of the Imperial Palace at

Picture No. 11992900
Robin, two Robins on spade handles in winter snow Date:

Comic postcard, Little girl at the seaside, marooned on a pile of sand. Date: 20th century

Captain L. E. G. Oates by the Stable Door, 30 August 1911, (1913). Artist: Herbert Ponting
Captain L. E. G. Oates by the Stable Door, 30 August 1911, (1913). Lawrence Titus Oates (1880-1912) suffering from gangrene and frostbite, walked from his tent into a blizzard

Illustration of female manual worker standing behind tipper truck holding spade

Portrait of Billie Holiday and Mister, Downbeat, New York, N.Y. ca. Feb. 1947. Creator: William Paul Gottlieb
Portrait of Billie Holiday and Mister, Downbeat, New York, N.Y. ca. Feb. 1947

Porthcothan Bay Cornwall, 1950s Holiday Makers dig a trech in the sand to stop cars from being driven on to the beach. The trench was 150 yards long and 2 feet deep

PLAYING CARDS, c1750. Playing cards bearing the blazoning of the ensignes armorial of the kingdoms of Scotland, England, France, and Ireland. Engravings, 18th century

Garden tools used by the Royal children. 3 Swiss Cottage, Osborne

Children Play at Seaside
Rather than entrust their boat to the waves which might sweep it away, these children construct an inshore pool where it will be safe though its voyages will be short

Robin - close up on snow covered spade handle UK
MAB-1102 Robin - close up on snow covered spade handle UK Erithacus rubecula Mark Boulton Please note that prints are for personal display purposes only and may not be reproduced in any way

Cheerful Land Girl
A cheerful Land Girl cycles to work with her spade over one shoulder

Five children building a snowman in a wood
Five Edwardian children building a snowman in a wood

Off to the Sea by Muriel Dawson -- a little child ready for the summer holidays. Date: 1940

Children Run on Sand
Two children and their dog scamper across the sand, carrying their spade and bucket. Date: 1913

Miner working at the coalface, South Wales
A miner, stripped to the waist, working at the coalface in a mine in South Wales

Medieval Workers 15C
Labourers & Artificers

Children on Beach 1 of 4
Four children on the beach, wanting to make friends but feeling a bit shy

Christmas card in the shape of a boy in a sailor suit with bucket and spade. Date: circa 1890s

Comic postcard, Large woman in red swimsuit on the beach Date: 20th century

Garden Tools, Spades, Forks, Hoes, Shears, Rakes and Knives. 19th century

Hardy Patent Pick Co. mining tools 1890s
Selection of solid steel mining hand tools made by Hardy Patent Pick Co, in Sheffield. Date: 1890s

Poster, Dig for Victory, Grow More Food, WW2
Poster, Dig for Victory, Grow More Food. 1940s

Chef Frank Boggie of the Albany Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland, almost met his match when he cooked up Shrove Tuesday pancakes. Workman Willie Duffy reconed anything Frank could do, he could do better

Hard Times, 1885, (c1930). Creator: Hubert von Herkomer
Hard Times, 1885, (c1930). A family rest by the side of the road. The fathers tools, tied in a bundle, indicate that he is looking for manual labour

Picture No. 12479896
Robin, wearing Christmas hat on spade handle in winter Date:

The Earth, unknown date. Creator: Nicolas Lancret
The Earth, unknown date. Part of a series on the Four Elements, a theme that was popular during the 17th century and which frequently took the form of depictions of figures engaged in tasks

Les bêcheurs (The diggers), 1855-1856. Creator: Jean Francois Millet
Les becheurs (The diggers), 1855-1856

Her Majesty the Queen planting the "Prince Consort's Oak" in Windsor Great Park, 1862. Creator: Unknown
Her Majesty the Queen planting the "Prince Consort's Oak" in Windsor Great Park, 1862. Engraving from a photograph by Mr. Bambridge

The Fourcroya Longaeva, a species of agave...in the gardens of the Royal Botanic Society... 1864. Creator: Unknown
The Fourcroya Longaeva, a species of agave, flowering in the gardens of the Royal Botanic Society, Regent's Park, 1864

A House Made of Cards
Uma Gokhale

British building railroad, 28 Jul 1917. Creator: Bain News Service
British building railroad, 28 Jul 1917. British soldiers laying a light railway line near Boesinghe, Belgium, July 28, 1917 during the Battle of Passchendaele (the Third Battle of Ypres)

British women tending fat boilers at front, 24 Jul 1917. Creator: Bain News Service
British women tending fat boilers at front, 24 Jul 1917. Members of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps tending fat boilers situated outdoors in an infantry camp in Rouen, France on July 24

Mabel Garrison, 1917. Creator: Bain News Service
Mabel Garrison, 1917. Soprano opera singer Mabel Garrison Siemonn (1886-1963), digging a spade into the ground at a demonstration garden next to the U.S.S

German soldiers in the Aisne District, 26 Dec 1914. Creator: Bain News Service
German soldiers in the Aisne District, 26 Dec 1914 (date created or published later). German soldiers with a shelter in the Aisne District, France during World War I

"Winter", drawn by A. Hunt, 1864. Creator: Mason Jackson. "Winter", drawn by A. Hunt, 1864
"Winter", drawn by A. Hunt, 1864. The sun is sinking-in the wintry sky, And all the landscape lies enwrapp'd in snow; The day is dying, and to see it die Come youth and age

The Chaudière Gold-Fields, Canada: the diggings on a tributary of the Chaudière, 1864. Creator: Mason Jackson
The Chaudiere Gold-Fields, Canada: the diggings on a tributary of the Chaudiere, 1864. Forty-eight years ago a woman, engaged in washing, found a large nugget of gold

Trenches in Central Park, Mar 1918. Creator: Bain News Service
Trenches in Central Park, Mar 1918. Probably shows a project to dig demonstration trenches in Central Park, New York City

Belg.[i.e. Belgium], burying horses after battle, 1914. Creator: Bain News Service
Belg.[i.e. Belgium], burying horses after battle, 1914. People looking at a dead horse in the road after the Battle of Haelen which was fought by the German and Belgian armies on August 12

Comic postcard - plump woman on beach - I Can t See My Little Charlie Date: circa 1949

Comic Seaside Postcard - I Can t See My Little Johnny
I Can t See My Little Johnny - Humorous saucy seaside postcard design by Donald McGill (1875-1962). Date: circa 1949

Allegorical scene with Flora, Botany, Physics and Pomona
Flora, crowned with a garden of flowers, offering floral tributes to three figures - Botany (shown holding an alembic), Physics (who is looking through a magnifying glass)

Hircocervus, goat-stag or horse-stag - The Trusty Servant

Poster, Dig for Victory, WW2
Poster, Dig for Victory, step on it! 1940s

Poster, The need is growing, Dig for Victory still, WW2
Poster, The need is growing, Dig for Victory still. 1940s

The Flying Scotsman - which has just returned home from America, is pictured here at Chinley, Derbyshire. It is enroute to British Rail Derby for an overhaul. 19th February 1973

Grounds staff at Bristol Rovers Eastville Stadium struggle to clear snow from the pitch. 23 January 1963

Former Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine seen here before planting an oak tree to inaugurate work on Cambridge Universitys new Churchill College, 17th October 1959

Manchesters oldest building, the Shambles, is rising to new heights, but its not quite as easy as ganger man Pat Hegarty makes it look

Icy pavements in Middlesbrough. 1971

Queen Elizabeth II plants a silver birth tree in the aromatic gardens, St Helens, Merseyside on 21st June 1977. She is watched by the Mayor. The Queen celebrated her Jubilee year this year, 1977

Doc Rosecrans a gold prospector on Superstition mountain, Apache Junction, Arizona. Where he digs for gold and searches for the legendary lost Dutchman mine

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"From Welsh Women Road Builders to Royal Engineers: The Spade's Enduring Legacy" In the heart of South Wales, the spade has long been a symbol of resilience and hard work. It witnessed the determination of Welsh women road builders as they paved their way through challenging terrains, leaving behind a lasting mark on their communities. During World War I, it became an indispensable tool for the Rifle Brigade in their strategic positions along the Western Front. With each dig, these brave soldiers fortified their defenses and protected countless lives amidst the chaos of war. Meanwhile, in literature, it found its place in Sense and Sensibility as a gardener's trusted companion. Just like Elinor Dashwood's beloved Edward Ferrars, this humble implement proved essential for nurturing life and tending to nature's beauty. The it also played a vital role during times of social unrest. In 1921, amidst strikes that shook South Wales' coal industry to its core, it was wielded by determined miners who tirelessly picked coal from waste tips – an act of defiance against adversity. When World War II erupted, it took center stage once again with the iconic "Dig for Victory" poster urging citizens to cultivate victory gardens using this very tool. Its handle became a symbol of hope and self-sufficiency during dark times. Over time, technology evolved but never replaced its significance. A man with a mechanical digger in a muddy field reminded us that progress may change our methods but not our reliance on this timeless instrument. Even our furry friends recognize its importance. Picture No. 11992900 captures a golden retriever proudly holding onto his spade while building sandcastles at the beach – reminding us that even playtime can be enriched by embracing tradition. Beyond physical labor or leisurely pursuits lies another facet tied to paper money itself – French Alarmists saw John Bull clutching banknotes tightly with one hand while gripping his trusty spade with the other.