At the outbreak of the First World War, in 1914, many men from all over Europe went off to fight in the war that would be remembered as one of the most terrible in history.
Before they left, they often went to one of the growing number of photographic studios, to have their photo taken in uniform, as a memento for the loved ones left behind. Even as the war dragged on, and the extent of the carnage and loss of life became widely known, that tradition carried on, with the men knowing that this might well be the last image their family would ever have of them.
This young German soldier is adopting a classic pose.
A British junior officer, attempting to appear casual and relaxed.
I can’t help thinking that he was dreading his arrival in the trenches.
All the armies used Colonial soldiers. This Indian soldier would have been fighting in the British Army, and wanted to leave this memory behind.
Naval warfare was a large part of WW1 too. This sailor looks like a schoolboy. He tries to appear tough in the photo, and looks determined to do his part.
This mature French soldier’s photo was used a propaganda image by his government. He looks well-equipped, and ready for anything.
Another German soldier, taking his equipment to the studio to be photographed against a nice backdrop.
This handsome Australian soldier looks like a film star.
He may well have seen action in the Gallipoli campaign against the Turks.
America entered the war in 1917. Their soldiers were known as ‘Doughboys’. This smart soldier is actually Harry S. Truman.
In 1918, he was a Captain of Artillery.
He later became President of The United States in 1945, and ordered the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Scottish regiments were an important part of the British Army. This soldier is posing in his kilt, before being posted to the front lines.
This particular soldier famously survived the war.
He was hit by bullets that lodged in a thick Bible he always carried, and that stopped them entering his body.
His story was widely reported when he returned.
Most of the men looking out at us from these photos were either killed or badly injured during that long and horrific war.
Even those that came home have long since died.
But we have these photos to remember them by.
Innocent young faces, with no idea of the horrors to unfold…..
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Such faces in old photos have haunted me for most of my life, Sue.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes
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Great post – and moving. The faces of these young men look back at us from the past, and the events they witnessed very much shaped the twentieth century and the world of today. I’m actually writing a biography of a Great War soldier now – Bernard Freyberg – to be published in late 2020. He had his own such photos made when he reached Britain in August 1914 to serve with the RND – in 8 x 10″ prints with ‘Kia Ora’ written on them, underscoring his origins in New Zealand. It was, I guess, an extension of the nineteenth century tradition of posed photographs; but the poignancy that went with the pictures of the soldiers, sailors and airmen of 1914-18 is palpable, both then and now.
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Thanks, Matthew. Good luck with your book.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thank goodness for photographers. I think fewer people today have professional photos done because iPhones take a good photo. That is both a curse and a blessing. WWI was truly the worst war. Those photos tell quite a story. Thank you, Pete.
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Yes, WW1 was the first truly ‘Global War’. The repercussions of that conflict still shape the modern world.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Well said, Pete.
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How it touched me to see the youth in the many of them. Then too, at the lack of youth in the faces of several. War is tragic. It always has been. What did mothers and fathers do! To send their own sons out and never to know . . .
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I think it is important to keep being reminded of such tragedies, in the hope that we do not repeat past mistakes.
Thanks, Michele.
Best wishes, Pete.
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absolutely-when nothing good comes from something-we ought to take notes . . .and steps.
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Most of them look far too young to catch the train alone, never mind go to war. I can’t imagine what their mothers went through wondering if they were safe and well.
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Tragic times indeed, Abbi. Most of a generation lost, all over Europe and Russia.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Many thanks for this informative post and excellent pictures. The sailor is John Travers Cornwell who was one of the youngest recipients of the Victoria Cross for his bravery during the Battle of Jutland.
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That is actually disputed now, WS. (See my answer to Maria, below) Jack Cornwell served on HMS Chester, not Lancaster. Despite previous accreditation of this being Jack, it is now believed to be his brother.
Whatever the truth, it is a powerful portrait indeed.
Best wishes, Pete.
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That’s a good point. Didn’t know about the photo but the portrait of Cornwell that’s now with the Royal Navy Museum in Portsmouth was painted by Frank Salisbury using his brother as a model due to their strong physical resemblance to each other.
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Thanks for adding that information, WS.
Best wishes, Pete.
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A poignant post, Pete. Most of those soldiers looked heart breakingly young.
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Thanks, Mary. Other than the Frenchman, I suspect they were all under 20.
Best wishes, Pete.
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In 2014, I saw an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London, and your post reminded me of these young men sacrificed in that evil war. I felt that I recognise the young Naval soldier from somewhere. Maybe he was the first to die at the Battle of Jutland? I couldn’t find his picture there but remember something of a very young and brave boy.
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Well remembered, Maria. I did some more research, and the picture believed to be of Jack Cornwell, who you refer to, has lately been proven to be of his younger brother. So the one on this post is of the brother.
Cornwell was 16 when he died from wounds sustained in action at the Battle of Jutland, in 1916. His rank was that of ‘Boy ( First Class)’. He was famously awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery. But he served on HMS Chester, and the cap band in the photo shows HMS Lancaster, which is probably how they established it was indeed his brother. Perhaps the loss of Jack gave him that determined countenance?
Even the Imperial War Museum continues to display the photo with the name Jack Cornwell, apparently.
Best wishes, and thanks for reading.
Pete.
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Thank you so much for your effort to find him. Photos of people always fascinate me together with their life stories
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I had wondered if it might be Cornwell, when I wrote the post. But it was just credited as ‘boy sailor’, and the name of the ship was wrong too. 🙂
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I read so much both about the first and second World War. These photos remind me of how our present admin is doing everything to keep the loyalty of our armed forces giving them more favors than the rest of the public employees.
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These men from 1914-1918 were usually first-time soldiers, and volunteered out of a sense of patriotic duty. I doubt we would do that again, Arlene.
Best wishes, Pete..
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So young, a reminder of how lucky the majority of us are that we haven’t had to serve in pointless wars, although may still continue 😦
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At least people volunteer to serve in the armed forces now, and are no longer conscripted.
Best wishes, Pete.
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They were so young! Many made me think of young high school students. Thanks for keeping the memories alive. Everyone of them (at least to me) had that haunted look peeking through, some more than others Very brave men.
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I agree, Ron. That look of heading into the unknown.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Boys, boys, boys!
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Boys at the start, men at the end.
Thanks, Cindy.
Best wishes, Pete. x
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Thank you for the reminiscense, Pete! We can only hope never again getting something like one of the two World Wars. Best wishes, Michael
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Thanks, Michael. Some things must never be forgotten.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Our library has a doughboy statue outside on the grounds to remind us all of the sacrifices in that war.
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We have similar statues or monuments in most towns and cities here, Elizabeth. WW1 affected virtually every corner of the country.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Well done! We indeed need to remember all those who were caught up in past conflicts and do our damnedest to keep any more from dying. Warmest regards, Theo
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Thanks, Theo. Their eyes in these photos keep me inspired.
Best wishes, Pete.
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the horrors of WW1 and WW2 are unthinkable now. truth is, war never stopped. we continue to wage war, only a different level/type. thanks for the reminder Pete.
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I just noticed that I missed your comment, Wilma. I miss your blog posts too.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks for sharing these Pete. It’s a necessary reminder of how costly war is.😞
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Those faces looking into the camera have long haunted me, Kim.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I’ve probably mentioned this before. But back in 1974-75, when I spent 17 months in France, I frequented the Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial just outside Paris, even helping to lower and fold the American flag a couple of times. According to Wikipedia, the cemetery “is the resting place of 1,541 American soldiers killed in World War I.” But the 3-hectare (7.4-acre) cemetery also contains the remains of 24 unknown soldiers who died during World War II. The white crosses of the latter are arranged in a large cross. I used to read the guestbook in which visitors (mostly French, but also American) wrote about their experience, and the comments often brought tears to my eyes. Many of the dead from World War I actually died of the Spanish Influenza.
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I believe that the Spanish Flu epidemic killed as many people after the war as those who died fighting in it.
Thanks, David.
Best wishes, Pete.
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A correction! Yes, I was in France in 1974-75 (Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris / Université de Nice), as this was my junior year abroad, but the period to which I referred in my comment was 1994-95, when I spent 17 months in Paris in the wake of a divorce.
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The photos appeal to my genealogist spirit. The wars destroyed so many lives and so many families. My favorite photo of my Dad is his photo in uniform. It is a studio portrait and he is so young and innocent. Thankfuklly he was too young for WWII.
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My Dad was a regular soldier already, from 1936. He served all through WW2 in the artillery, but was posted to India in 1941, and ended up having a rather splendid time of it for the rest of the war.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Fascinating post, Pete. I would have never recognized Truman. He was the only American President who didn’t have a college degree. A good President, I think. He couldn’t bear to think of the cost to American troops in the Pacific trying to flush out the Japanese who were so dug in and fanatically suicidal; so he dropped the bombs. Who am I to second guess him? So I won’t. All that said, he was terribly mobbed up. As bad as JFK.
The British sailor really strikes an accord with me. There is resolve in his eyes. And hardness. His youth has been robbed. I have no doubt that he was tough. Heartbreaking.
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Thanks, Pam. The gaze of every one of these men haunts me, and always has. Right back to similar photos taken at the start of the US civil war. That confidence, occasional swagger, all so unknowing of the horrors to come.
The man in the last photo has a different expression. This was 1918, and he had survived. You can almost see how the experience has aged his countenance.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Great post Pete
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Thanks, Mathew. Glad you liked it.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thank heavens for photographs. These are all very special.
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It is sad to think that for many of them, this is their only legacy. But at least we have them to remind us of that awful war.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I have my grandads war photo just like these chaps. Lovely post.
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Thanks, FR. My granddad was just too young for WW1, and in a ‘restricted trade’ (flour mills) by WW2.
Glad you enjoyed the post.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Great post today, helping to keep these men honored!!
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Thanks, GP. Like you, I want to keep those memories alive.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Happy to hear it!!
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So many innocent young faces….
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Yes indeed, Sue. So many lost, and just that last photo to remember them by.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Wonderful photos. It was such a horrific time. Thank you for sharing.
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Thanks, Penny. My wish is to keep reminding people, and to honour the memories of those men too.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pictures always tell sometimes incredible stories. It’s tragic to think about the lives these men have lived, and the fears they must have experienced during their times as soldiers. I hope that we will never have to face such fears in our lifetime😔 Thanks for sharing these Pete, amazing photographs.😊
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Thanks, Michel. I always think there is nothing quite as chilling as the images of these hopeful young men, going off to a war they mostly had no understanding of.
Best wishes, Pete.
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That part especially it’s what makes it so sad to see these pictures😢 And I don’t think anyone will ever truly understand war 😔
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As you know I am fascinated with WW1…great post…great photos….chuq
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Thanks, chuq. I think it is our duty to keep reminding every new generation.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I agree…but fewer and fewer people want to hear it…..that will be the fate of the Vietnam War soon chuq
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I’m sure if I did a similar post about Vietnam, many people would just think of it as ‘the old days’.
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Sad…..50,000+ deaths and it is the old days…..truly sad…chuq
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I enjoyed reading this post.
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Thanks, Frank. Glad you liked it. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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