Photographers > David McLellan
(106) L.661 - R.E. diver descending to the bottom of a Canal in France to repair the foundation of a bridge
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| First World War 'Official Photographs' > Photographers > David McLellan > (106) L.661 - R.E. diver descending to the bottom of a Canal in France to repair the foundation of a bridge |
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/74548804 |
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| Description | This image shows a diver climbing down a ladder into the water. He is wearing a heavy diving suit with the air supply controlled through two large hoses which are being held by a soldier standing on the jetty. The standing man has the shoulder marks 'RE' of the Royal Engineers and his shirt collar is marked 'Kit No 4'. When the Germans retreated from an area they commonly destroyed communications links such as bridges. It was one of the jobs of the Royal Engineers to keep roads and bridges open for the troops. [Original reads: 'OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN ON THE BRITISH WESTERN FRONT IN FRANCE. R.E. diver descending to the bottom of a Canal in France to repair the foundation of a bridge.'] |
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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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