Photographers > Ernest Brooks
(90) C.1299 - How Fritz barricaded himself at Serre, with iron girders
Thumbnail gallery: Grid view | List view
Universal Viewer | 
Mirador | Large image
Images and transcriptions on this page, including medium image downloads, may be used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence unless otherwise stated. 
| First World War 'Official Photographs' > Photographers > Ernest Brooks > (90) C.1299 - How Fritz barricaded himself at Serre, with iron girders |
|---|
| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/74546322 |
|---|---|
| Description | A bleak and depressing landscape, Serre, France, during World War I. The ground is muddy and water-logged. There are a few planks of wood in the foreground, possibly the remains of a walkway. To the left of this, perhaps at the edge of a field, large iron girders have been pushed into the ground and point skywards. The derogatory term for a German, 'Fritz', originates from the French word 'frites' meaning potato chips and the German diminutive of 'Friedrich'. Whilst many scenes were deliberately taken as propaganda, some, like this, manage to capture the damaging effects of war on the landscape. [Original reads: 'OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH OF THE SOMME ADVANCE - How Fritz barricaded himself at Serre, with iron girders.'] |
More information
|
|
| 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. |
|---|---|
|
More information
|
|
| Description | Photographs by named photographers. |
|---|
| 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. |
|---|---|
| Shelfmark | Acc.3155 |
|
More information
|
|