Postcard of the Day No. 58, Burmese Holiday

Today’s card has a colonial flavour. More than twenty girls aboard an open sided tramcar have lined up to be photographed. Schoolchildren, almost certainly – orphans, quite possibly. Their chaperone stands tall in his tropical suit and hat, an imperial authority figure from a minor public school, responsible for the rule of law and promoting the Christian gospel. The driver, his eyes fixed on the far distance and his hands welded to the controls, exhibits the sort of fierce concentration that inspires confidence. It’s a special occasion and the girls are going on holiday, in practice this may be no more than a day trip to the Cantonment Gardens or other local attraction, and spirits are not conspicuously high. Resignation is the default expression - expectations appear to be low. The life that lies ahead of them will be very hard - in their mature years they will have to endure the devastation of their lands as the Japanese and British forces battle for supremacy between 1942 and 1945. In the bonus cards below we see some early motorised visitors to British Columbia and California enjoying their new mobility and easy access to the great outdoors.