Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434) 560 Drillfield Drive Newman Library, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 Business Number: 540-231-6308 specref@vt.edu URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu
Sarah Gouger, Student Assistant; Laura Katz Smith, Manuscripts Curator; Kira A. Dietz, Archivist; Kim Staub, Graduate Assistant
Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Identification
Ms.1988.039
Title
Harry Downing Temple Jr., Papers 1872-2004 1930-2001
Quantity
46.5 Cubic Feet, 49 boxes, 3 oversize folders
Creator
Temple, Harry Downing
Location
Please note: Boxes 22-32 of this collection are located in off-site storage and requires 2-3 days notice for retrieval. Please contact
Special Collections and University Archives for more information.
Language
Materials in this collection are in English.
Abstract
The 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. Materials date from about 1872 to 2004.
All of the materials in this collection are available for research. Some materials in this collection are available for publication
and exhibit, but copyright restrictions may apply to materials not created by Virginia Tech or the collection creator. Contact
Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization
form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition
form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives ( specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder],
Harry Downing Temple, Jr., Papers, 1872-2004 (bulk 1930-2001), Ms1988-039, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia
Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Source of Acquisition
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, in September
1998. Additional processing was completed by Kira A. Dietz, Archivist, and Kim Staub, Graduate Assistant, from 2011-2012.
Additional accessions were integrated by Kira A. Dietz, Archivist, in February and March 2020.
Harry Downing Temple was born in Elizabeth City County (now Hampton), Virginia, on October 24, 1911, and reared in Petersburg,
Virginia. He attended Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (now Virginia Tech) 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.
The 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. Materials date from about 1872 to 2004.
The majority of the collection comprises research for The Bugle's Echo , including handwritten manuscripts, drafts, copies of research material, and extensive collection of photographs. 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 Colonel 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.
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, 1930-2004, includes materials pertinant to Colonel Temple's life, like awards and certificates,
and praise for The Bugle's Echo.
Series II: Heraldry and Insignia, 1915-2001 (bulk 1950-1990), contains a large collection of heraldric drawings and research
which Colonel Temple gathered or drew himself over his lifetime.
Series III: Virginia Tech Research and History, 1882-2001 (bulk 1930-1995), comprises Colonel Temple's research on Virginia
Tech, much of which overlap with Colonel Temple's research for his books.
Series IV: Ephemera Research, 1938-2001, contains research materials largely related to the military.
Series V: Bugles Echo Manuscripts, 1979-1986, n.d.; Series VI: Research Files for Future Bugle's Echo, 1934-2004 (1934-1989);
and Series VII: Photographs and Images for The Bugle's Echo, pre-1872-1920, 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. Please note:
Boxes of photographs, negatives, and slides are denoted with Boxes 1P-15P.
Temple, Harry Downing, and Floyd Richard Vranian. 1996. The Bugle's Echo: A Chronology of Cadet Life at the Military College at Blacksburg, Virginia, the Virginia Agricultural and
Mechanical College and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute . [Blacksburg, Va.]: Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Alumni. Call number: LD5655 .T46 1996
Please note: This collection includes recordings of lectures on 7mm reel-to-reel. Special Collections and University Archives has an appropriate
audio player, and recordings can be listened to in the the reading room.
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