Photographers > John Warwick Brooke
(219) D.2070 - Gunner writing a letter home
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| First World War 'Official Photographs' > Photographers > John Warwick Brooke > (219) D.2070 - Gunner writing a letter home |
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/74547206 |
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| Description | A man sits on some rough wooden planks, next to a pile of sandbags, and smokes a pipe as he concentrates on writing. In the background another man, also busy writing, has noticed the photographer and pauses to smile for the camera. Both men are in uniform and wear steel helmets. They are surrounded by sandbags and piles of shovels. In the background, a horseshoe has been nailed to a plank of wood, possibly for good luck. This is a good example of the type of image often used by the Government and Military as propaganda. It reassured those at home to see images of dedicated soldiers writing home to their families. [Original reads: 'OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN ON THE BRITISH WESTERN FRONT. BATTLE OF MENIN ROAD. Scene near Hooge. A gunner writing a letter home.'] |
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| Description | John Warwick Brooke, of the Topical Press Agency, was the second British official war photographer to go to the Western Front in 1916. The demands placed on he and his colleague, Ernest Brooks, were heavy. They had to take as many photographs as possible, with as much variety as possible, a difficult task for two men covering an army of over two million. Despite this, Warwick Brooke managed to take what would become some of the most memorable images of World War I. As an officially appointed photographer, Warwick Brooke was assigned to the Western Front to follow the progress of the British Army. During his time there, between 1916 and 1918, Warwick Brooke is estimated to have taken over 4,000 photographs. |
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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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