Photographers > Ernest Brooks
(215) C.1782 - German prisoners helping British Tommies bring in the wounded near Messines
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| First World War 'Official Photographs' > Photographers > Ernest Brooks > (215) C.1782 - German prisoners helping British Tommies bring in the wounded near Messines |
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/74545928 |
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| Description | German prisoners of war, Messines, Belgium, 1917. Five German prisoners of war and one guard are walking along a shady road. The prisoners look relaxed. Four of them are carrying a stretcher with a wounded British soldier on it. The nickname 'Tommy' entered into general usage after the Rudyard Kipling poems, 'Tommy' and 'To Thomas Atkins' (1892), which pay homage to the sturdy character of the average British soldier. The Battle of Messines Ridge (June 1917), commanded by General Plumer (1857-1932), was won by the British. Plumer was a very tactical commander and utilised his troops, mining experience to dig under the German lines and blow them up with TNT. [Original reads: 'OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH FROM THE WESTERN FRONT. German prisoners helping British Tommies bring in wounded near Messines.'] |
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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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