Photographers
Tom Aitken
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| First World War 'Official Photographs' > Photographers > Tom Aitken > (36) N.434 - Showing the hole in the roof through which the first shell to strike the Cathedral entered |
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/74549052 |
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| Description | Shell-damaged roof of Amiens Cathedral, France, during World War I. The bomb damage to the roof of Amiens Cathedral, which was caused by German artillery fire. Looking closely at the damage one notes the large size of the bricks that were used in its construction, plus the fact that the roof contains at least three layers of brickwork. Fortunately, unlike the cathedral at Arras, Amiens Cathedral only suffered superficial damage during the conflict. Located in the heart of Picardy, Amiens Cathedral, is one of the largest 'classic' Gothic churches of the 13th century, and is very similar in style to Notre-Dame in Paris. The tallest complete cathedral in France, it represents the pinnacle of gothic engineering in France and was the last of the extremely tall church buildings. Various measures were taken to protect the building from bombs during both world wars, and this perhaps explains the relative lack of damage. [Original reads: 'OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN ON THE BRITISH WESTERN FRONT IN FRANCE. In Amiens Cathedral. Showing the hole in the roof through which the first shell to strike the Cathedral entered. This Photo was taken immediately after the event occurred.'] |
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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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