Question: Can you shed Light on These World WAR I Photos?

[Asher Kelman]

A bunch of glass plates were found in in a barn in a village in France. They date back to 1914 before perhaps one of the the largest land battles and ensuing death tolls in history.

Many of the British soldiers are wearing rough sheepskins over their battle-dress: a tell-tale sign of the great overcoat shortage of the winter of 1915. The sheepskin-clad "Tommies" look, bizarrely, like ancient warriors or Greek or Yugoslav partisans.

Within a few months – or days, most probably – many of the soldiers were dead. The "somewhere in France" where these pictures were taken was a village called Warloy-Baillon in the département of the Somme. Ten miles to the east was the front line from which the British Army launched the most murderous battle of that, or any, war, which lasted from 1 July to late November 1916 and killed an estimated 1,000,000 British empire, French and German soldiers.

More than 90 years later, at least 400 glass photographic plates preserving the images were found in the loft of a barn at Warloy-Baillon and cast out as rubbish. In recent months, the plates, some in perfect condition, some badly damaged, have been lovingly assembled and their images printed, scanned and digitally restored by two Frenchmen.

Just 3 of the many plates carefully restored by M. GARDIN AND M. ZANARDI

Who can comment on this and add to our knowledge?

Read more here.

Asher

[Ken Tanaka]

I really enjoy these little found photography stories, Asher. (Rather like Robert Capa's "Mexican Suitcase", eh?) These appear to be wonderful restorations.

Thank you for pointing out this story.

[Rick LeDuc]

I think these plates are a wonderful find. These are beautiful photos, and amazingly preserved. I can not offer any historical information in regards to these photos, but I can certainly appreciate their historical value. Thank you very much for sharing this.

[Asher Kelman]

Originally Posted by Rick LeDuc

I think these plates are a wonderful find. These are beautiful photos, and amazingly preserved. I can not offer any historical information in regards to these photos, but I can certainly appreciate their historical value. Thank you very much for sharing this.

Rick,

These guys look so debonaire and full of life! Who'd have thought they's be consumed. BTW, not only did they have to suffer trench warfare and rotting feet, but also poison gas. an uncle of mine feigned death and was buried by the Germans with lime and crawled out to his lines but never was able to walk properly. He never had an actual rifle. The British didn't have enough. So he has a wooden dummy rifle instead!

I think then 22,000,0000 folk also died of bird 'flu influenza at that time too!

Asher