Photographers > Ernest Brooks
(354) C.817 - Many shells fell among our men as they took the crest
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| First World War 'Official Photographs' > Photographers > Ernest Brooks > (354) C.817 - Many shells fell among our men as they took the crest |
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/74546788 |
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| Description | The photographer appears to have taken this picture lying flat in a field. The furrows and undulations of the field look to be quite deep. The stones and chunks of mud look very large, making the whole area quite difficult to run in. In the background solitary tree trunks stand on the horizon. Random groups of men, dwarfed by their surroundings, are dotted along the horizon. The centre of the photograph is dominated by a cloud of thick smoke presumably from a shell. Many of these photographs due to the spontaneous and dangerous nature of the situation were in fact staged. [Original reads: 'BRITISH OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH FROM THE WESTERN FRONT. - Many shells fell among our men as they took the crest.'] |
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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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