This passport was issued to a 17-year-old student,
Mr. Lawrence Ernest Cooper, a
British Subject, to permit him to travel in Europe.
DIPLOMATIC REQUEST
We, Sir Edward Grey, a Baronet of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, a Member of His Britannic Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, a Member of Parliament, &c. &c. &c.
His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,
Request and Require in the Name of His Majesty, all those whom it may concern to allow
Mr. Lawrence Ernest Cooper (British Subject), travelling in Europe
to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford him every assistance and protection of which he may stand in need.
Given at the Foreign Office, London, the 5. day of January 1912. |
Early passports were written in Latin or English until 1772, when French was used instead. From about 1855 English was used, with some sections translated into French for many years. In 1855 passports became a standardised document issued solely to British nationals. They were a simple single-sheet paper document, and by 1914 included a photograph of the holder.
The use of this format ended in 1914 when the
British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act 1914 was passed on the outbreak of World War I with a new format introduced in 1915: a single sheet folded into eight with a cardboard cover. It included a description of the holder as well as a photograph, and had to be renewed after two years.
PASSPORT VALIDITY
| THIS PASSPORT IS NOT IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCES AVAILABLE BEYOND FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE OF ITS ISSUE. A FRESH PASSPORT MUST BE MUST THEN BE OBTAINED. |