Historical Photos

2023-08-14T08:58:00.005+01:00

Trench foot warning posters! WW1

WW1 Poster

A couple of WW1 posters warning of the effecting of Trench foot and looking after your boots and Feet!

Trench foot first became a common problem among troops a as they stood in muddy trenches for long hours in water-soaked socks and boots.

Soldiers Parade with town village (Film Still)

2020-08-11T10:04:00.005+01:00

Film still from “The Big Parade” (1925).

Coney Island: Luna Park

2016-11-17T11:03:00.000+00:00

Luna park Coney Island 1910-1915

Somme 2016 - Poppies

2016-11-15T12:20:00.000+00:00

2016 a field in the Somme

Tour de France: A look back at the past

2014-07-08T21:54:00.000+01:00

Mountain stages used to be a little different on the tour , similar routes just the road conditions might have resulted in a few punctures these days. Picturesque mountains in the background.

The 1928 Tour passing through a village, women waiting to cross the road. Again the roads look in poor condition but the riders don't seem to be going too fast here.

Running repairs, bit of grease from a man hanging out of a support car. Health & Safety in full force.

Only a few years old the Tour was growing in popularity and as we see above the 1906 was attracting lots of spectators through a French town.

World Cup 1950: Brazil vs Uruguay

2014-06-23T19:41:00.000+01:00

As another Football World cup takes place we look back at the 1950 match between Brazil vs Uruguay. An amazing photo showing so much detail of the players and crowd. Look at the shot seemingly goal-word bound with defending holding up their arms in protest.

Those were the days when the fans would pack in so tight. The legs of the people dangling down over the advertising signs.

Ohh yes, this was the final. Just the 173,000 people in attendance.

WW2 Destruction: Caen & Saint-Lô France, Cologne Germany

2014-06-05T20:30:00.000+01:00

Caen, France 1944. Ariel shot of the city showing the devastation left by WW2 and the German invasion.

Saint-Lô France 1944. American troops entering the town. Not often I use colour photos but this one seems to be untouched and natural.

The German city of Cologne 1945, which was destroyed by Allied carpet bombing. In the center is seen the famous Cologne Cathedral

London 1900's: Kensington & Muffins

2014-06-03T19:43:00.000+01:00

London 1901. Bangor Street was in the potteries district of Kensington, where a Rag Fair was held. In the early 20th century it was a more renouned street market than Portobello. The street was coloured lowest class black in Booth’s colour coded poverty maps of 1889-1902.

A muffin seller in London early 1900s. Bell to help sell the muffins on the streets.

WW1 Planes: Australian Palestine, Salmson & British crash

2014-06-03T09:58:00.000+01:00

A flight of bombing planes 1st Australians flying corpse, Palestine.

French Salmson plane.

A crashed British plane that looks in good condition - other photos show crumpled heaps - so it may simply have run out of fuel and made an impromptu landing.

Flying planes in WW1 was an extremely dangerous task, more died in training than in battle. Given flight being rather new and the very fragile planes they used meant a pilots life was often short.

A Flight of Bombing Planes 1st Australian Flying Corps, Palestine - See more at: http://picturesofworldwar1.com/photographer-frank-hurley/a-flight-of-bombing-planes-1st-australian-flying-corps-palestine#sthash.RK9llAHU.dpuf

WW1 Liberty Bonds Rally: New York Charlie Chaplin

2014-05-29T19:59:00.000+01:00

Douglas Fairbanks holding up Charlie Chaplin in front of crowd to promote Liberty Bonds, Lower Manhattan, NYC , 1918. As you can see there was a rather large crowd here!

WW1 Movies: La Grande Illusion, The Road to Glory.

2014-05-12T20:00:00.000+01:00

WW1 Battlefield & Trench: Somme

2014-03-08T20:25:00.000+00:00

Spanish clearing up some of the mess left on the battlefield at the Somme. A few things we notice similair to many other Somme photos is the total destruction of the landscape, boggy, mud, awful conditions for anyone.

Sadly not the best of photos but it convays over to us the reality of the Somme and other battlefields in WW1. Wire fence behind the water filled trench where lancfusiliers are patrolling.

WW2: London Bombing

2014-03-07T20:19:00.000+00:00

1940 WW2, London Docklands. The German bombing of England was more frequent and cities and towns up and down the country were beginning to witness nightly attacks. Here we see Docklands terrace housing area where bombs have completely destroyed a street, total destruction.

WW1 American Troops heading home

2014-03-06T21:00:00.000+00:00

American soliders returning home on the Agamemnon, Hoboken, New Jersey after WW1. I think there is room for one or two more soliders on deck :)

China Town: San Fransisco 1899

2014-02-26T20:39:00.000+00:00

San Francisco's Ross Alley, "Street of the Gamblers"by Arnold Genthe.

WW1: Fake trees on the battlefield

2014-02-12T19:10:00.000+00:00

Thanks to War History Online I am now aware that fake trees were used in WW1. Not sure I would liked to be the person who has to be stuck inside one when it was behind enemy lines! Did they use a radio to send back intelligence? As you see the entrance to the tree was under ground level and normally well covered up.

Allied soldiers discover a fake tree entrance hole. You can see the huge stump next to this too, most probably planted in a large wood before bombs decimated the rest of the real trees. You just have to see Flanders fields to know what they ended up like.

Original drawing plans for fake trees. Right hand one in water location?

WW2 Trench life: Well and truly dug in!

2014-01-28T19:53:00.000+00:00

Seen plenty of Trench photo's from across WW1 & WW2 but I really like this one. You can see from the dug out alcoves that this has been a home for soilders for a good period of time. Well dug out shelters to avoid not only gunfire but the weather conditions. Also it looks very dry, not the usual mud bath that we normally see across European trenches. The soliders seem relaxed, most of the gear laid out across the floor and trench walls. Again this would make me believe it was not a front line trench but prehaps a secondry one a few hundred yards from the action.

WW1 Women in work: War Correspondents, Bomb Factory

2014-01-20T21:11:00.000+00:00

Women War Correspondents working in the European Theatre of Operations.

An interior view of a workshop in the Belgian Munition Works, also known as the Pelabon Works.

WW1 Propaganda Posters: Travel the World, Eat more cottage cheese

2014-01-15T21:38:00.000+00:00

Times change and in the early 1900's only the very fortunate, middle class and rich actually went on holidays. So a key plus for recruiting so called 'normal' infantry was the chance for them to travel around the world. Although most would end up in a small part of Europe in a wet trench.

Changing peoples diet was essential in maintaining resources going to the front line and keeping up the War effort. Explaining that eating less meat and viable alternatives such as cottage cheese can provide the protein needed.

WW1 Propaganda: German cage, Australians Arise.

2014-01-14T21:19:00.000+00:00

As a change I have selected a German WW1 propaganda poster. It shows the British Lion caged, crying and weak. This would give the impression to the Germans that we were there for the taking, swept under Germans power.

Australia played a huge part in WW1 & WW2, both in political influence and sending huge amounts of troops to fight. We can see by the poster that the fear of being 'Germanised' would have been key to recruiting for battle.

1800's Photos: Logging, trains and spiked suits.

2014-01-07T20:37:00.000+00:00

Logging North America late 1800s. As we can see two horses are meant to pull a whole lot of wood and men on a slay across icy/winter ground. Not sure about how safe the load looks! I am sure they knew what they were doing.

In the late 1800s railway across North America was a huge savior for the logging industry, allowing their products to be sent all across the country.

It seems a rather bizarre suit at first, what on earth could be its purpose of this in the 1800s? It was made of leather and had huge spikes attached. Hunters specifically hunters where bears roamed would wear these to protect themselves and warn off any bears having a swipe at them. The spikes would make sure they did not do it again.

WW1 Recruitment photos collection

2014-01-06T21:16:00.000+00:00

I have often posted pictures of posters used in WW1 that were used to recruit for the forces. But I have found very few interesting images of people actually getting recruited. Hopefully this gives people some sense of the mass scale in which men signed up for WW1, the huge vacuum left of men of a certain age after the war.

This looks likes the recruitment stall is taking place in a city square, with large statue behind it. Gramophone most probably playing music or Propaganda. Maybe the crowd are gathered for the photo or just that it might be the start of the War and this is the first drive to enlist men? The military man sat down seems to have a non British uniform on, looks North American.

A somewhat less grande recruitment setting but it seems to be drawing in the men to enlist. We can see from the mens facial expressions they look a little worried.

One step down the recruitment chain would be to get the men the correct uniform, turn up for medicals and getting the rest of their kit.

Two of the new recruits must be still in the teens, I am guessing they had no idea what hell would await them in the battlefields...

WW1 Propaganda: The Start of the Great War.

2014-01-04T18:57:00.000+00:00

I like this one, if your man does not sign up for WW1 is he right for you? likely to neglect you as he did his country? Very much the duty of ALL men to sign up and fight the enemy.

This poster gives the real impression that signing up can be a man real prospects in life. Unskilled or not there was a place for you.

There were a number of WW1 posters referring to "Remember Belgium". At the start of WW1 Germany invaded Belgium with such brutality to civilians it was used as a tool across Europe to sign people up against the enemy for a number of years following the event.

WW1 Centenary: 1914-2014

2014-01-03T18:34:00.000+00:00

So we are here, the 100 year anniversary of World War One. It will be marked across the UK with a number of events. I found a very decent site here that gives information and calendar of them. I hope to have a number of WW1 themed posts over the year and give a real insight into life at the time.

Old Festive movies: Alastair Sim & Crew

2013-12-16T19:02:00.000+00:00

It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 film that again I love watching every year. A cracking story and family movie that at its time had a huge production budget of $3.3 million, only breaking even at the theaters. Not initially critically acclaimed it seems bizarre that this was not a huge hit! Over time of course this has changed into a classic!

We have all watched A Christmas Carol but my favorite version is Scrooge a 1951 film adaptation of Charles Dickens's story. Alastair Sim is so ideal for his role as Ebenezer Scrooge. Maybe until my kids are a little older the muppets version will have to do!