Photographers > Ernest Brooks
(361) C.971 - Returning from the trenches
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| First World War 'Official Photographs' > Photographers > Ernest Brooks > (361) C.971 - Returning from the trenches |
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/74546810 |
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| Description | Five soldiers standing looking into the camera. There is a goat standing in front of the man on the far right. All five men are wearing steel helmets, and two of the men are wearing waterproof capes. The man second from the left is a carrying a bag with a cross emblazoned on it, probably a first aid kit. Behind the group there are two soldiers reclining on a bank of earth. In the background a rooftop is visible. 'Tommy’ is 'Tommy Atkins’, a fictional hero figure representing the average British soldier. During the war, regiments often adopted an animal as their mascot. The chosen animal would often travel around with them. It was also fairly common for individual soldiers to keep animals as pets. [Original reads: 'Returning from the trenches. "And everywhere that Tommy went, the goat was sure to go".'] |
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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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