The 11th November 2018 marked 100 years since the armistice was signed and the First World War ended. Alongside the usual poppy appeal across the UK and across the world there are thousands of different ways in which remembrance Sunday, unique in it’s significance, is being celebrated this year. Due to my own military connections through my job, my studies and my work with the Royal Navy Reserves I decided to do something a little bit different for 2018; a little photo project out in the battlefields of France and Belgium following some research I did some time ago into First World War photography.
During the First World War many soldiers took a camera in order to document their experiences while in service. While this was later discouraged by the British War Office, many still kept cameras under the radar leading to many evocative and revealing pictures of life on the front line. The First World War is certainly one of the first major events in history that is almost entirely documented photographically.
While portable cameras may seem a remarkably modern phenomenon, one of the most popular cameras of this period was the Kodak ‘Vest Pocket’ camera. Dubbed the ‘soldiers’ camera due to its popularity within the army, it was designed to fold up and slip away into a pocket – smaller even than many modern day digital cameras. It was also simple and easy to use: perfect for the amateur photographer. Though if, like me, you’re used to digital, not entirely fool proof!
Many of the images we most associate with the First World War – those taken in the trenches, showing both the horrors of war but also the camaraderie and friendship that was formed – may well have been taken on a camera like this. Amateur snapshots, because official photography was uncommon on the British front. (In contrast, Germany pushed for more front line photography in an effort to give people more of a connection with the men away from home.) Sales of the VPK also soared after the Americans joined the war, with soldiers actively encouraged to ‘Make your own pictures of the war!’[1]
The cameras are easy enough to find on the internet, the only delicate parts being the bellows which may rot, and the shutter mechanism which can rust and jam, but generally a camera is a cared-for item, so it was easy enough to find one in working order even after a century. The film, however, was more difficult. 127 film became obsolete in the 1960s and only exists in part due to the re-popularity of film photography as a format in the last ten years.
Like the trenches, the memorials established by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission are familiar to a twenty-first century viewpoint of the war. The CWGC was set up in 1917 and served to memorialise those who died where they had fallen rather than bringing bodies back to their home countries, and it was these that I wanted to get on film in remembrance. The catch? I only had one reel of film: a grand total of eight photographs, and little to no knowledge of film photography.
Ypres
The first pictures I took were in and around the Belgian town of Ypres (or ‘Wipers’).
The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing is one of the most striking memorials to the war, with near 55,000 names inscribed across its walls representing the commonwealth servicemen who have no known grave. The gate marks the entrance to the town, which was totally destroyed by shelling during the war and, most poignantly, plays host to a memorial service every night since 1928. At 8pm, the Last Post is played and wreathes may be laid.
Just outside Ypres, within an industrial estate, a network of trenches was unearthed in 1992. The Yorkshire dug-out was used as headquarters by the Royal Welsh Fusiliers during the 3rd battle of Ypres in 1917. Such a well preserved trench network was ideal for my little photo project, the cramped and claustrophobic trenches look almost the same on black and white film today as they did 100 years ago.
Mametz
When it comes to the Welsh in the First World War, the disastrous result of the battle of Mametz Wood is ingrained into the history. The 38th (Welsh) division suffered huge losses in the battle, and this dragon topped sculpture looks out on the area where the fighting took place. It is a stunning piece of artwork, and although one of my pictures was over exposed still rather formidable on the landscape.
The battle of Mametz wood was a total disaster both in terms of loss of life and strategic significance, and it also resulted in a loss of faith in the Welsh division that would have to be re-earned later during the battle of Passchendaele.
Vimy Ridge
Victory at The battle for Vimy Ridge was the result of combined French and Canadian forces. The memorial is one of the most imposing, overlooking a key strategic point of the war. From the top it is easy to see why – you can see most of France from the ridge and the mourning figure in the second picture shows this. Because of the fact that the memorial is pure white and it was a rather sunny day the two images I took were over-exposed again, but they still somewhat show the size and design of the memorial. What cannot be seen, but is worth mentioning, is the ground around the monument. The area has been left largely untouched, and the result of shelling can be seen across the battlefields – pits and hills and –Keep out, unexploded ammunition- signs mean that a lot of the area will remain this way for a long, long time.
The Somme
The Somme offensive in 1916 is perhaps the better known of all the battles that the British partook in during the War. It lasted five months, and was the costliest engagement of the war. There were near a million casualties in the offensive, with around 20,000 deaths on the first day alone. Across the area there are dozens of cemeteries and memorials to different battles, or regiments, or days, but the Thiepval memorial is the biggest. Like the Menin Gate, it lists 75,000 names of men whose bodies were never found.
Due to the sheer size and difficulty of photographing the monument with my digital camera, I chose not to attempt it with my Kodak. Instead, I went out the back to the cemetery that preceded the memorial.
The picture I took here, the last picture I would take of my trip, is perhaps the best. Now I was used to the camera, to the settings, and to the dodgy angle of the viewfinder. I was able to get the stunning scenery that the Thiepval Memorial overlooks, as well as capturing the Commonwealth and French graves side by side. Truly, when I went out there, this was the picture I wanted to get. It is typical of a Commonwealth War Grave of the First World War, with the iconic octagonal-based cross of sacrifice, the smart Portland stone headstones of the commonwealth soldiers, and the well kept nature of these graves, even 100 years on, by the commission.
*All photos are the production and property of Emily Boycott.
More information:
https://www.cwgc.org/ The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has detailed information on each of the monuments.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/10-photos-of-life-in-the-trenches The Imperial War Museum has a vast collection of photographs, many of which may have been taken on a camera like this.
https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/the-vest-pocket-kodak-was-the-soldiers-camera/ An Article on the Vest Pocket Kodak.
[1] https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/the-vest-pocket-kodak-was-the-soldiers-camera/
Contributor:
Guest blog writer, Emily Boycott
Emily is a Cardiff University postgraduate alumni, where she received her MA in History. Emily currently works part time at the Firing Line Museum and a Royal Navy Reservist.
Reviewed by: Michael Legge
Cardiff University SHARE eJournal 
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