Photographers > Ernest Brooks
(43) C.1150 - Roof of a much shelled church on the Western Front
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| First World War 'Official Photographs' > Photographers > Ernest Brooks > (43) C.1150 - Roof of a much shelled church on the Western Front |
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/74546630 |
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| Description | Destroyed church, France. This picture has been taken from floor level looking up at the roof from behind a pile of rubble. The interior of the church is a ruin. Much of the integral structure remains, but the decoration and plaster have gone. The roof and top of the walls have caved in, probably accounting for most of the rubble on the floor. The soldier in the middle of the picture gives the remaining roof struts scale. Only once armistice had been declared did the full extent of the damage done to civilian buildings become clear. The rebuilding work became a priority in the post-war period. [Original reads: 'OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN ON THE FRONT IN FRANCE. The roof of a much shelled church on the Western Front.'] |
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| Description | Ernest Brooks was the first British official war photographer to be assigned to the Western Front in 1916. Previously a 'Daily Mirror' photographer, he was given the honorary rank of Second Lieutenant. His remit was to take as many photographs as possible, with as much variety as possible. Using his inconspicuous hand-held camera Brooks was free to wander, sometimes capturing his subjects unawares. Many of the images taken by Brooks were used to fuel the propaganda machine at home and abroad. Despite this Brooks, who was very aware of composition and light, produced some very artistic and thought-provoking images. |
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| Description | Photographs by named photographers. |
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| Description | Black-and-white photographs mainly of the Western Front during the First World War. Official British war photographers took many of them for propaganda purposes. Unless otherwise stated, titles are the photographs' original captions. From the papers of Field Marshal (Earl) Haig (1861-1928). The Haig Papers also contain Douglas Haig’s diaries. |
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| Shelfmark | Acc.3155 |
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