[Colonel F. E. G. Skey of the Royal Engineers.] Offprint of his obituary by ‘C. F. A.-C.’, with full-page portrait, from the Royal Engineers Journal; together with manuscript map of ‘SKEY TRENCH / near PONT FIXE’ (Battle of Loos, First World War).

Scarce: no copies on WorldCat or JISC. 2pp, 8vo, paginated 1-2, with photographic portrait of ‘Colonel F. E. G. SKEY’ on art paper facing the first page. In grey wraps with printed title on front cover ‘Memoir / OF / COLONEL F. E. G. SKEY.’ In fair condition, lightly worn and aged, with two vertical creases. Describing Skey’s active career, the obituarist begins by noting that ‘It is not given to everyone to work as late in life as Skey did.’ Skey had been ‘promoted Colonel in 1912 and retirned in March, 1914, having been offered the Secretaryship of the R. E. Institute’, ‘But the First World War broke out in August, 1914, and Skey became C.R.E. of the 33rd Division, went to France in September, 1915, and into the line near Bethune. In April, 1916, he was invalided home and finsihed the war as C.R.E. Dover.’ The map, in faint pencil, is on a 16 x 8.5 cm slip of paper, creased and aged, with two vertical folds. It shows the trench that Skey had named after him during the Battle of Loos, 1915. Title at bottom right: ‘SKEY TRENCH / near PONT FIXE’. It is a simple affair, undated and unattributed, with ‘CHEYNE WALK’ running along the canal at the top of the page, ‘PONT FIXE’ across the canal at top left, and ‘BRITISH FRONT LINE’ and ‘GERMAN’ at right. To the left is ‘DAWSON ST’ with ‘BERKSHIRE RT’. At bottom left is the road to ‘CAMBRIN’. See image.