Photographers
Tom Aitken
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| First World War 'Official Photographs' > Photographers > Tom Aitken > (87) N.623 - Street in Amiens |
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| Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/74549156 |
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| Description | Immediate aftermath of shelling in Amiens, France, during World War I. This shot captures some of the impact that shelling had on the towns of France and their people. Thick smoke rising in the background suggests another shell has just struck the town; in the foreground a barrel seems to be wobbling from the force of the blast, while overhead wires shake. Locals in the ruined street gaze skywards, apparently in anticipation of another strike. Amiens was one of the most important strategic locations on the Western Front due to its important railway links. Apart from a brief spell in 1914 when it was German occupied, it remained in French hands for the whole of the war. It was in most danger of recapture during the German Spring Offensive of 1918, which is probably when this photograph was taken. [Original reads: 'OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN ON THE BRITISH WESTERN FRONT IN FRANCE. A street in Amiens.'] |
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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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