Octagon Wine Club, Oxford University 1882

Category

Museums & Galleries Item

Item no

36844

Title

Octagon Wine Club, Oxford University 1882

Description

One sepia photograph of the Octagon Wine Club at Brasenose College, Oxford University. Douglas Haig is seated, middle rank left of centre. On the wall in the background has been carved "1882" and "Vampyres".

Date

1882

Type

Photograph

Location

Museum of Edinburgh

Accession number

HH4303/27/81

The Octagon Wine Club was a dining and drinking society at Brasenose College, Oxford.

The 'Vampyres' which is written on the wall in the background of the photograph were another drinking club at Oxford University of which Haig was a member.

Douglas Haig was born in Charlotte Square, Edinburgh on the 9th June, 1861 to John Haig, the whisky distiller and Rachel Veitch. The young Douglas would spend the majority of his youth at the main family home of Cameron House in Fife before being educated at Clifton College, Bristol and then Brasenose College, Oxford.

Douglas Haig was commissioned into the 7th Hussars following his attendance the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, thus beginning a military career which would see several tours of India, action in both the war in the Sudan and South Africa before rising up the ranks to be posted as the head of the Aldershot Command prior to the First World War.

Douglas Haig went to war with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in August, 1914 in command of the I Corps. In December of 1915 following Sir John French's departure Haig took up the post as Commander-in-Chief of the BEF.

After the war Douglas Haig retired from the army in 1920, was created the 1st Earl Haig and spent the rest of his life seeing to the well-being of ex-servicemen.

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Education > Educational facilities > Universities and colleges

People > Famous people > Field Marshal Earl Haig

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