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(89) N.634 - View in the Grand Place, Bethune

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(89) N.634 - View in the Grand Place, Bethune

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First World War 'Official Photographs' > Photographers > Tom Aitken > (89) N.634 - View in the Grand Place, Bethune
(89) N.634 - View in the Grand Place, Bethune
Permanent URLhttps://digital.nls.uk/74549160
DescriptionShell damage in the Grand Place, Bethune, France, during World War I. The severity of the damage that French towns near the front lines suffered from bombing and artillery fire. Not one of the buildings pictured here remains intact, and it is likely that the cost in human life was also high. The French town of Bethune was considered an important strategic location for its rail and canal links. It was nearly captured by German forces after heavy bombardment in April 1918. Aitken probably took the photograph during this April bombardment. [Original reads: 'OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN ON THE BRITISH WESTERN FRONT IN FRANCE. A view in the Grand Place, Bethune.']
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Tom Aitken
DescriptionTom 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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Photographers
DescriptionPhotographs by named photographers.
First World War 'Official Photographs'
DescriptionBlack-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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