Photographers > John Warwick Brooke
(521) D.760 - On their way to the trenches
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| First World War 'Official Photographs' > Photographers > John Warwick Brooke > (521) D.760 - On their way to the trenches |
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/74548062 |
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| Description | British soldiers marching in single file to the trenches, during World War I. Marching along in single file and with a full kit, the original caption for this photograph says that these soldiers were heading to the frontline trenches. Perhaps rather ominously for the men, two Red Cross ambulances are parked on the other side of the sludge-filled road. Though covered by a camouflaging blanket of snow, as with so many images from 'The Great War’, the barren and otherworldly landscape captured in this photograph is the usual mix of branchless trees and scattered debris. Although this combination of snow, frost and ice turned the trenches from a muddy hell into an icy hell, adverse weather conditions such as these also sometimes had positive effects. For instance, it was only when snow and ice had descended upon the muddy Somme battlefield in mid-November 1916, that Earl Haig finally abandoned the terrible campaign. [Original reads: 'BRITISH OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH FROM THE WESTERN FRONT. On their way to the trenches.'] |
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| Description | John Warwick Brooke, of the Topical Press Agency, was the second British official war photographer to go to the Western Front in 1916. The demands placed on he and his colleague, Ernest Brooks, were heavy. They had to take as many photographs as possible, with as much variety as possible, a difficult task for two men covering an army of over two million. Despite this, Warwick Brooke managed to take what would become some of the most memorable images of World War I. As an officially appointed photographer, Warwick Brooke was assigned to the Western Front to follow the progress of the British Army. During his time there, between 1916 and 1918, Warwick Brooke is estimated to have taken over 4,000 photographs. |
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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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