andybarton Posted December 25, 2006 Share #1 Posted December 25, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have just been tidying my study, and found some black photo frames that I had forgotten I had. So, I thought I'd find something from the archives to go in them. This is the field where my Great-Grandfather was mortally wounded in November 1915 The tree in the middle distance and the hedges behind are on field cemeteries. My Great-Grandfather was a stretcher-bearer - an incredible job when you think about what they had to do - and there are graves in these two cemeteries with the fallen from a couple of days prior to his death. He died in a field hospital, at Corbie. It is therefore highly likely that he was mortally wounded while recovering these bodies, or comrades who survived the day. I have posted shots of his grave before. R8/28 Elmarit-R/ probably Royal Supra 200 (it was scanned over a year ago) [ATTACH]19434[/ATTACH] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 25, 2006 Posted December 25, 2006 Hi andybarton, Take a look here Somme Battlefield. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
azzo Posted December 25, 2006 Share #2 Posted December 25, 2006 A lovely and a very well composed image Andy. Best Azzo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocker Posted December 25, 2006 Share #3 Posted December 25, 2006 Andy, A lovely picture to remember your great-grandfather - RIP. All wars are silly but the First World War was the silliest of the 20th century. My grandfather was in it and he was a very wonderful man. I'm sure your great grandfather was also. Merry Christmas Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmr Posted December 26, 2006 Share #4 Posted December 26, 2006 Andy, a moving shot to go with a moving story - thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
elansprint72 Posted December 26, 2006 Share #5 Posted December 26, 2006 Even without the family connection this one is worth hanging. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted December 26, 2006 Share #6 Posted December 26, 2006 Andy, thanks for sharing both the image and the story behind it. I was in this area last summer and as I've said before it's so peaceful now that it's impossible to imagine what a hell on earth it must have been during the first world war. I don't want to hijack the thread but I took the image below when I was at Thiepval this summer. When you leave the excellent new visitors' centre to walk to the monument there are steep bankings - and I saw this cross, that had obviously been there for some time, in the near vertical bank. One small tragedy in the middle of thousands. I can be a cynic at times, and I'm not in the least religious, but there's something almost tangibly painful when you see how many young men were sacrificed and realise that there's a family tragedy behind each of them. [ATTACH]19492[/ATTACH] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted December 26, 2006 Author Share #7 Posted December 26, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) Thanks guys. It's already on the wall in my study, along with this B&W version of the Corbie cemetery. [ATTACH]19504[/ATTACH] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhanke Posted December 27, 2006 Share #8 Posted December 27, 2006 I have seen many former battlefields, but none has moved me like those of World War I. To imagine that the youth of several nations was butchered in the trenches, for nothing, is most depressing. Best regards, Marcus Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
graeme_clarke Posted December 27, 2006 Share #9 Posted December 27, 2006 Hello Andy, They're very moving images that evoke memories. I went to see the cemetries where the deaths of my great uncles on the Somme are commemorated - one in Poziers in 1918 and the other at Thiepval in 1916. All that is there are their names are inscribed on plaques on the walls of the memorials. As others have said, its heart wrenching to see family names there, and the sheer numbers of others there too. It was a quiet July morning in 1999 - no birds were singing - I was alone - and I swear, if there are ghosts.... best wishes, Graeme Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
msr Posted December 27, 2006 Share #10 Posted December 27, 2006 Hello Andy, They're very moving images that evoke memories. I went to see the cemetries where the deaths of my great uncles on the Somme are commemorated - one in Poziers in 1918 and the other at Thiepval in 1916. All that is there are their names are inscribed on plaques on the walls of the memorials. As others have said, its heart wrenching to see family names there, and the sheer numbers of others there too. It was a quiet July morning in 1999 - no birds were singing - I was alone - and I swear, if there are ghosts.... best wishes, Graeme One of my ancestors, Frederick Raines, is also commemorated at Poziers. (There was no body left to bury.) He was 44 years old when he was killed and his son was fighting along side him. His son was captured by the Germans 4 days later. My son made a pilgrimage to Poziers in the summer of 2004 and had a solitary & moving experience much like yours Graeme. Thanks for the post Andy. Malcolm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted December 27, 2006 Share #11 Posted December 27, 2006 Great images, Andy, my grandfather was there too, wounded and gassed, affected him for the rest of his life. He made it, hundreds of thousands didn't. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamey Posted December 28, 2006 Share #12 Posted December 28, 2006 Thanks Andy. I remember my Grandad having difficulty in breathing, Granny why is Grandad breathing like that, because he was gassed in the great war was her answer. So many young men were killed for what? we havn't changed. They're in IRAQ fighting for what to make more assholes richer. May they rest in peace. Ken. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted December 29, 2006 Author Share #13 Posted December 29, 2006 Thanks, guys. It's nice to know that my photographs touch a chord with some other folk too. There's hardly a family in the UK who doesn't have a WWI story to tell. I'm afraid. Similarly in Germany, let's not forget... [ATTACH]19882[/ATTACH] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEd Posted December 29, 2006 Share #14 Posted December 29, 2006 Hi Andy, A picture is worth a thousand words. Thanks. Ed. . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill W Posted December 31, 2006 Share #15 Posted December 31, 2006 Thanks Andy, You remeinded me how lucky I am to be here period. My grandfather was in WW I, he survived and later gave life to my dad in 1924. My dad was a B17 pilot in WW II. My granddad died when I was very young, he was 57, my age now and I never heard about his experiences in France and neither did my dad. I had to really pull stories out of my dad about WW II but he generally liked to tell them. He lived a long life and recently passed away at age 82. Thanks again, Superb photography at your website by the way! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilfredo Posted January 1, 2007 Share #16 Posted January 1, 2007 Thank you for sharing Andy, the stories and the images. Que en paz descansen. Wilfredo+ http://www.Benitez Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
m_opel Posted January 1, 2007 Share #17 Posted January 1, 2007 Andy, maybe you're interested in this: a few days ago someone posted in the german section that the french government has recently released some colour photographs from WW I... Photos: Farbfotos vom ersten Weltkrieg - ARIVA.DE And the thread with some explanations concerning the "Autochrome" technology (scroll down): http://www.leica-camera-user.com/leica-kundenforum/11064-farbfotos-vom-ersten-weltkrieg.html Happy new year, Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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