Douglas Armsden Maine photograph collection

Douglas J. Armsden was born in Peterborough, England on July 14, 1918, the son of the late Cyril and Mabel Gilbert Armsden. At age two, his family immigrated to Buffalo, New York, where he graduated from Technical High School of Buffalo. He then moved to Kittery, Maine, and began his photography practice.

During World War II, Armsden served in the Pacific theater on the U.S.S. Bayfield and participated in the Iwo Jima and Okinawa operations. With his camera, he documented his years of duty in the Pacific. After the war, he remained in the Coast Guard Reserves, retiring as commander in 1967.

Armsden’s work as a photographer included hundreds of weddings and portraits, scenic photography for the Maine and New Hampshire Chambers of Commerce, early documentation of Strawberry Banke, coverage of news events and press conferences for UPI, and the documentation of the area's finest historic structures. His photographs were published in magazines such as Down east and Profiles, and in a number of architectural books. Many can be found at the Portsmouth Athenaeum, Strawberry Banke, and the state archives of Maine and New Hampshire.

Armsden met his wife Alice Decatur in 1947 while photographing her modeling Lady Pepperell’s dress for the Kittery Tercentennial. The two married in 1948 and raised three daughters, Beverly, Gay, and Catherine, on Kittery Point.

Armsden volunteered with the Boy Scouts of America and served on various community groups, including the Portsmouth Camera Club and the Kittery Point Club. He died at age 91, on August 10, 2009.

See Douglas Armsden's obituary for more information.