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Monday 29 December 2014

Forgotten Photographs of WW1 - New BBC Documentary

The BBC have released a new documentary on the photography of individual soldiers in WW1. It includes photos that were salvaged from garbage - an amazing story.
The documentary explains the camera's they used, how much they cost, how they took them to war and the types of photographs they took.
The photographs tell the story from the point of view of the soldiers themselves. They include images of the famous Christmas Truce on the Western Front in 1914.
Even though they were specifically against orders after 1914 (in the British Army), the soldiers continued to take them.Some even sold their photos to the press - including those of the Christmas Truce. Historians believe that it was the appearance of these images that led to the banning of soldier's photography.
Conversely, the German Army didn't forbid photographs - and the German Photography Society sent cameras to soldiers at the front.
Just as on Lemnos in 1915, British - and other (including German) - soldiers took photographs of their war experiences, their friendships.
Lets hope this program is shown in Australia soon.
A link describing the program is contained here.
I have reproduced some of the images here.

Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

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