The social history of a suitcase: tracing the lives of Royal Air Force prisoners of war through one captive’s keepsake

This article examines a First World War suitcase lid belonging to Lieutenant Reginald Alfred Charles Brie of the Royal Flying Corps, later RAF, inscribed with his name, those of twenty-two fellow prisoners, and nine place-names. Drawing on service records, a contemporaneous diary, and Red Cross archives, it reconstructs the shared experiences and social networks of British airmen captured in 1918. The suitcase lid is interpreted as both a mnemonic object and a collaborative act of commemoration, functioning simultaneously as keepsake and social document. Positioned at the intersection of object biography, material culture, and wartime memory, this study demonstrates how a single, inscribed artefact can illuminate resilience, identity, and community within captivity. In doing so, it offers a microhistorical model for exploring the emotional and social dimensions of prisoner-of-war life through material remains.