The theme photograph of Sepia Saturday this week depicts the historical beginnings of a huge inhuman conflict that came to be known as World War One.
Originally it was called the "Great War" or the
"War to End All Wars."
My, my. Rather wishful thinking, wasn't it?
LOST GALLERY doesn't really have any historical photographs about well known events during World War One
that have not already appeared on a previous
Sepia Saturday feature such as
Sepia Saturday - Famous Events and People.
LOST GALLERY does have a number of other photographs from World War One, however. In assembling these photographs together for a feature page back in 2010, we noticed a similarity in some of them. There is a pose, a mood, maybe even a message in this similarity. See if you can see it.
Now march on back to the Sepia Saturday home page and see what else can be found from our sepia history.
Go back to THE MAIN INDEX PAGE
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Area 51 and a Half 
Don't take my picture! Oh! You DID didn't you! 
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THE KIDS 
Dee and the Business School 
WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?
Everyone a soldier, yet every one some mother's son. The boy with the salute is my favorite. They all have the same rangy look of the underfed lightweight. When the war started for America in 1917 the number of servicemen in regular military service was a small fraction of the millions of soldiers fielded by Britain and France.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mike Brubaker. Every one some mother's son. Exactly.
DeleteGreat photos. I particularly the hats with brims,m which were like our Australian slouch hats.
ReplyDeleteThanks boundforoz. They are rather sharp looking. I always liked the Australian slouch hat too. I think I have one very similar.
DeleteI wonder how many of these brace young men got to come home and have sons who then went off to WWII?
ReplyDeleteThanks Jackie van Bergen. I wondered the same thing. Experiencing continual wars is bound to effect the evolution of our species.
DeleteNot sure, apart from the fact that most have their arms by their sides, and look like they are members of the cavalry, or troopers as they would be called in the Australian Army.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jo Featherston. I think that is one of the first things I noticed too. Even though the photographs were taken at different times in different locations with different folks operating the cameras, the pose is very similar in each. I can't account for that. Also, I have found relatively few with someone else in the shot. The photographs from WW2 most often have a girlfriend or mother posing with them.
DeleteI think the similarity is what could be considered a military posture. My father and uncle had their photo taken together when both were in the Army during WWII. When they tried to capture a similar photo 40 years later, they stood very straight and rigid.
ReplyDeleteThanks Postcardy. Yes, I think you are right. There is a stiffness to the photographs, a lack of humor. Good observation.
DeleteIt's quite clear from all the photos that the uniforms are WWI vintage.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bob Scotney. Yes, I think they are all authentic WW1 uniforms. I do wonder about the one in the double-breasted coat however.
DeleteAside from the posture and clothing, they all have a certain resigned expression that seems to say, "I'm here. I'm not particularly happy about it, but it's my duty to be here and do whatever is needed."
ReplyDeleteThanks Gail Perlee. I agree with all that, especially the " ... not particularly happy about it...". Thankfully, they all did their part.
Delete