Allies > South African
(11) D.1158 - General Smuts inspecting a South African native labour unit in France
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| First World War 'Official Photographs' > Allies > South African > (11) D.1158 - General Smuts inspecting a South African native labour unit in France |
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/74548224 |
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| Description | This rather formal scene is thought to have been captured by the war photographer John Warwick Brooke. This is one of the proportionally few images of Black South Africans involved in the war effort. Due to South Africa's domestic policies at the time, Black South Africans were not allowed to bear arms and were instead involved in supporting roles. General Jan Christian Smuts (1870-1950), was born in Malmesbury, South Africa and enjoyed an active political and military career in South Africa. After the declaration of war by the British Empire, Smuts founded the African Defence Force. After accepting a position in the British War Cabinet in 1917, he played a vital role in establishing the RAF. [Original reads: 'OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN ON THE BRITISH WESTERN FRONT. General Smuts inspecting a South African native labour unit in France.'] |
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| Description | Photographs of South African soldiers, the South African Labour Contingent and South African civilians. |
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| Description | Photographs of various nationalities allied to the British. |
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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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