Photographers > Ernest Brooks
(38) C.1138 - Wintry scene on the Western Front
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| First World War 'Official Photographs' > Photographers > Ernest Brooks > (38) C.1138 - Wintry scene on the Western Front |
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/74546624 |
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| Description | Young soldier surrounded by icicles, France. The soldier in the middle of this photograph is wearing a cloth wrapped round his head under his helmet. He has a thick sheepskin waistcoat over his ordinary uniform which is fastened with leather straps. His hands and face still look quite grubby and he is smoking a cigarette. He is sitting amongst what appears to be the complex supports of a wooden structure. The icicles hanging from this are thick and long. This photograph, although probably posed, clearly illustrates the harsh realities at the Front. It is also a very personal portrait of this young man at this particular moment in time. [Original reads: 'OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN ON THE FRONT IN FRANCE. A wintry scene on the Western Front.'] |
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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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