Photographers > David McLellan
(12) L.1166 - Field gun firing a barrage during the advance at Cambrai, France, during World War I
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| First World War 'Official Photographs' > Photographers > David McLellan > (12) L.1166 - Field gun firing a barrage during the advance at Cambrai, France, during World War I |
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/74548952 |
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| Description | Set against the backdrop of a dramatic and striking sunrise, this rather artistic photograph shows a field gun firing a shell, watched by its crew of gunners. A barrage is a concentration of artillery fire aimed at a particular area, often a pre-determined 'box' of map co-ordinates – hence the term, a 'box' barrage. In particular, this refers to a line of exploding shells between defending and attacking troops. As this barrage was part of the advance at Cambrai, it is quite likely that the barrage was aimed at a ground area that would prevent reinforcements from reaching the besieged troops. This type of strategy is known as a 'stationary' barrage. [Original reads: 'OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN ON THE BRITISH WESTERN FRONT IN FRANCE. THE CAMBRAI ADVANCE. A barrage commences at the break of dawn.'] |
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| Description | Formerly a photographer with the 'Daily Mirror’, a newspaper which led the field in pictorial journalism, McLellan was appointed as an official war photographer in December 1917 along with Tom Aitken whose work also features in this collection. McLellan is especially noted for his work capturing the huge scale of operations on the Front. McLellan was one of five official photographers working on the Western Front, for the propaganda department during the last two years of the war. The photographers were driven to the site the authorities wanted them to photograph, which meant that most of their material was also largely censored. This did not, however, mean that the photographer did not get to know the people in the picture. |
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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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