Harry Downing Temple Jr., Papers
Scope and Content
The Col. Harry Downing Temple Jr. Papers contains materials related to Temple's personal life, interest in heraldry and insignia, and his research and publications on the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets.
The majority of the collection is comprised of research for The Bugle's Echo, including handwritten manuscripts, drafts, and copies of research material. Most of the research materials are photocopies from the Bugle, Techgram, and the Collegiate Times. As part of his research on Virginia Tech, Col. Temple collected a few original letters and memorabilia from other cadets. This collection houses a few of these letters and reminisces from the early years of Virginia Tech's history.
The other materials in the collection stem largely from Col. Temple's interest in the military and heraldry. The collection contains materials ranging from battle maps of Europe from the Napoleonic Wars to World War II, to heraldric drawings made by Temple or audio recordings of lectures he attended. Also included are various publications about heraldry and the military that Temple accumulated over his lifetime.
Dates
- Creation: 1872 - 2004
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1930 - 2001
Creator
- Temple, Harry Downing (Collector, Person)
- Temple, Harry Downing (Author, Person)
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish material from Harry Downing Temple Papers must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
Biographical Note
Harry Downing Temple was born in Elizabeth City County (now Hampton), Virginia, on October 24, 1911, and reared in Petersburg, Virginia. He attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute as a member of the Corps of Cadets from 1930 to 1934, and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering. He served as a professional officer of the U.S. Army and participated in World War II and the Korean War, rising to the rank of Colonel. From 1961 to 1966 he headed the Army's Institute of Heraldry, and designed the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He retired from the Army in 1966. Colonel Temple died in 2004.
Temple began his research for a book about the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets in the mid-1970s, and retired to Blacksburg, Virginia, in 1988, to be closer to the archival materials necessary for his research. Volume I of The Bugle's Echo, which chronicle's the years between 1872 and 1900, was published by the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Alumni, Inc., in 1996. Volume II, with details about the years between 1900 and 1912, was published in 1998. Volume III covers 1912-1920; Volume IV covers 1920-1926; Volume V covers 1926-1930; the final volume, Volume VI, covers the Corps from 1930 to 1934.
Full Extent
28.5 Cubic Feet (30 boxes, 2 oversize folders (does not include unprocessed materials))
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in seven series. Series I-V are arranged in alphabetical order. Within Series VI, research files are classified by date. Series VII is arranged by volume of The Bugle's Echo with which the materials are associated.
Series I, Biographical material contains materials pertinant to Colonel Temple's life, like awards and certificates, and praise for The Bugle's Echo. Series II contains a large collection of heraldric drawings and research which Colonel Temple gathered or drew himself over his lifetime. Series III is comprised of Colonel Temple's research on Virginia Tech, much of which overlap with Colonel Temple's research for his books. Series IV contains research materials largely related to the military.
Series V, VI, and VIII contain materials directly related to Colonel Temple's work on The Bugle's Echo. Handwritten manuscripts, research for future editions, and photographs, respectively, make up these series.
Location
Please note: Boxes 1-21 and 1P-9P are located in Special Collections, as well as several unprocessed accessions. There are an additional 11 boxes (labeled as "Box #" followed by a date range) located in off-site storage. These 11 boxes are currently unprocessed, but an inventory is forthcoming as of June 2016.
Acquisition Information
The manuscripts and photographs for The Bugle's Echo were donated in 1998. Additional materials were donated prior to 2004 and in 2011.
Processing Information
The papers were reboxed and organized by Sarah Gouger, student assistant, and Laura Katz Smith, Manuscripts Curator, Special Collections Department, in September 1998. Processing was finished in 2012. Additional donations to this collection are currently unprocessed, but are accessible for research on request.
Genre / Form
Topical
- Title
- Harry Downing Temple. Jr., Papers, 1872-2004
- Status
- In Progress
- Subtitle
- A Collection in Special Collections
- Author
- Sarah Gouger, student assistant, and Laura Katz Smith, Manuscripts Curator (1998); Kira A. Dietz, Archivist (2011), Kim Staub, Graduate Assistant (2012)
- Date
- © 1998, 2012 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. All rights reserved.
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections, Virginia Tech Repository
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg Virginia 24061 US
540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu