Saturday 7 November 2015

The uncomplaining faces of the First World War

In the run-up to Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day this year I've been busy on Twitter posting pictures of some of the ordinary people who lived through the First World War and who worked stoically and without complaint to do their bit for their country.

Their faces are close-ups from larger photographs which appear in my book Bristol in the Great War ... and here they all are below, with an explanation as to who they were in the captions at the bottom. I'm afraid I can't put names to any of them, but should any look familiar, do get in touch with me via @soldiersletters or by email jacwadsworth@hotmail.com. Had we lived 100 years ago, these people could have been you or me. Let's not forget them.

Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3
Photo 4
Photo 5
Photo 6
Photo 7
Photo 1: A young 'munitionette' who worked for the Easton engineering firm Brecknell Munro & Rogers manufacturing shell cases, taken from a group shot of the wartime workforce. Photo 2: Wounded soldiers enjoying themsleves in the grounds of Cleve House Hospital, Downend. Photo 3: Ladies from the Women's Royal Air Force at Yate in 1918, taken from a formal line-up. Photo 4: A 'munitionette' producing shell cases for Brecknell, Munro and Rogers in their disused Baptist chapel in Thrissell Street, Easton, which was converted for the purpose. Photo 5: Men at work in the propeller shop at the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, Filton, in 1918. Photo 6: A wounded soldier enjoying a day out at Clifton Zoological Gardens - a favourite venue for the entertainment of Bristol's wounded. Photo 7: When will it ever end? A young girl lost in thought as she watches the swans in Eastville Park. 
LEST WE FORGET


No comments:

Post a Comment