Use Restrictions

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.

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Harry Downing Temple, Jr., Papers, Ms1988-039, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

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. All known unprocessed accessions were processed by Kira A. Dietz, Archivist, in February and March of 2020.

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.

Scope and Content

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 is comprised of 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.

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. Please note: Boxes of photographs, negatives, and slides are denoted with Boxes 1P-15P.

Related Material

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

Index Terms

Subjects:

• Heraldry
• University Archives
• University History
• Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Corps of Cadets

Genre and Form Terms:

• Photographs

Rights Statements for Archival Description

The guide to the Harry Downing Temple, Jr., Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).