James Jarché (8 September 1890 – 6 August 1965) was a

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

photographer notable for the first pictures of

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

and the then-unidentified

Wallis Simpson Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Spencer and then Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986) was an American socialite and the wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (former King Edward VIII). Their intentio ...

and also for his pictures of

Louis Blériot Louis Charles Joseph Blériot ( , also , ; 1 July 1872 – 1 August 1936) was a French aviator, inventor, and engineer. He developed the first practical headlamp for cars and established a profitable business manufacturing them, using much of t ...

(1909) and the

Siege of Sidney Street The siege of Sidney Street of January 1911, also known as the Battle of Stepney, was a gunfight in the East End of London between a combined police and army force and two Latvian revolutionaries. The siege was the culmination of a series of ...

Early life

Jarché was born in

Mile End Mile End is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is east of Charing Cross. Situated on the part of the London-to-Colchester road ...

, London, to Jewish parents Arnold Jarché (or Jarchy; died 1901) and Amelie (née Solomon). His father had a photographic business near

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule, Suspension bridge, suspension, and, until 1960, Cantilever bridge, cantilever bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones ...

in London, but died when Jimmy was ten, leaving his wife and Jimmy to run the business. After an undistinguished school life (he was expelled from

St Olave's Grammar School St. Olave's Grammar School (formally St. Olave's and St. Saviour's Church of England Grammar School) ( or ) is a grammar school, selective secondary school for boys in Orpington, Greater London, England. Founded by royal charter in 1571, the sch ...

), he was world amateur

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

middleweight champion in 1909. In

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he stationed the rank of company sergeant-major with the 1st army corps school for physical training and

bayonet A bayonet (from Old French , now spelt ) is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , now spelt ) is a knife, dagger">knife">-4; we might wonder whethe ...

training, serving in France. He married Elsie Gladys Jezzard (1893–1971), of Epping, Essex on 18 August 1914. They lived with her parents, who ran the White Lion pub in that town.

Career

He worked as a photographer for the ''

Daily Sketch The ''Daily Sketch'' was a British national tabloid newspaper, founded in Manchester in 1909 by Sir Edward Hulton, 1st Baronet. The ''Sketch'' was Conservative in its politics and populist in its tone during its existence through all its ch ...

'' from 1912 to 1929, then worked at The Graphic and the '' Daily Herald''. He spent

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a British war correspondent for ''The Herald'' and the ''Weekly Illustrated'' and an official photographer for ''

Life Magazine ''Life'' (stylized as ''LIFE'') is an American magazine launched in 1883 as a weekly publication. In 1972, it transitioned to publishing "special" issues before running as a monthly from 1978 to 2000. Since then, ''Life'' has irregularly publi ...

'', in the Middle East. He visited Libya in 1941 and was in Burma in early 1942. He was in Berlin immediately after the end of the war. Tasked with photographing the coronation of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

for

Odhams Press Odhams Press was a British publishing company, operating from 1920 to 1968. Originally a magazine publisher, Odhams later expanded into book publishing and then children's comics. The company was acquired by Fleetway Publications in 1961 and th ...

, he reportedly also took colour photographs, which he sold independently, and was therefore sacked by Odhams. He then worked for the Daily Mail until his retirement in 1959.

Legacy

His wartime negatives are at the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

, his ''Daily Herald'' glass negatives are at the

National Science and Media Museum The National Science and Media Museum (formerly The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, 1983–2006 and then the National Media Museum, 2006–2017), located in Bradford, West Yorkshire, is part of the national Science Museum G ...

, Bradford, and some of his work is in the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

. More of his negatives are in the

Getty Images Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (stylized as gettyimages) is a visual media company and supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video, and music for business and consumers, with a library of over 477 million assets. It targets three mark ...

archive. Perhaps his best remembered photograph shows the rear view of some small naked boys running from a policeman who had caught them swimming in

The Serpentine The Serpentine (also known as the Serpentine River) is a Reservoir#Recreation, recreational lake in Hyde Park, London, England, created in 1730 at the behest of Caroline of Ansbach, Queen Caroline. Although it is common to refer to the entir ...

in London's Hyde Park. A story he liked to tell concerned a visit he made to

Chequers Chequers ( ) is the English country house, country house of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. A 16th-century manor house in origin, it is near the village of Ellesborough in England, halfway betwee ...

to photograph

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. He was given a very large drink and taken for a walk in the garden. Walking just behind Churchill he found the drink too much so he tipped it into a pond they were passing. Unfortunately this made an audible splash. Without turning Churchill called out: 'Pour Mr Jarché another drink'. Two of his grandchildren (his daughter was their mother) are the brothers, actor

David Suchet Sir David Courtney Suchet ( ; born 2 May 1946) is an English actor. He is known for his work on stage and in television. He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial '' Oppenheimer'' (1980) and received the RTS and BPG awards for his pe ...

and newsreader

John Suchet John Aleck Suchet ( ; born 29 March 1944) is an English author, television news journalist and presenter of classical music on Classic FM. His journalistic career began when he worked as a graduate trainee at the Reuters news agency in 1967 a ...

. In his old age, he lived with his daughter and her sons, John, David and Peter. In March 2012 David presented a one-hour television documentary, in which John also appeared, about his grandfather, as part of the ITV series 'Perspectives'.

Bibliography

References

External links