Photographers > Tom Aitken
(12) N.390 - Royal Fusiliers going up into action
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| First World War 'Official Photographs' > Photographers > Tom Aitken > (12) N.390 - Royal Fusiliers going up into action |
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/74549002 |
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| Description | Marching in rows of four, a battalion of Royal Fusiliers make their way to the fighting. An officer on horseback supervises the marching, and a soldier carrying a wooden sign (perhaps to mark the different companies) can also be seen among the throng. All the men are carrying a full kit and wearing their standard steel helmets, which were designed to protect the wearer from overhead shrapnel. The word 'fusilier' is derived from the word, 'fusil', which was a flintlock musket. A fusilier was a soldier armed with a fusil, though now it is just a historic title held by several regiments. The Royal Fusiliers were formed in 1685, and are also known as The City of London Regiment. The regiment consisted of 47 battalions during 'the war to end all wars' and won 13 Victoria Crosses. [Original reads: 'OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN ON THE BRITISH WESTERN FRONT IN FRANCE. Royal Fusiliers going up into action.'] |
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| Description | Tom Aitken was a newspaper photographer from Glasgow who was assigned in December 1917 as a war photographer along with David McLellan and Armando Consolé. McLellan's work also features in the National Library of Scotland’s Haig Papers. War photographers held a hybrid position during World War I, being part of yet not ultimately responsible to the military. |
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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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