Now all roads lead to France and heavy is the tread
Of the living; but the dead returning lightly dance.
Edward Thomas, Roads

Friday, August 24, 2018

A Classic Great War Photo: Hawthorne Mine, 1 July 1916


Top—1 July 1916; Lower—20 Aug 2016

Photographer Ernest Brooks and cinematographer Geoffrey Malins recorded the most famous images of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916 at 7:20 a.m.

In May 2016 I was able to visit the location where they observed the explosion. It is on a sunken road used by elements of the 29th Division as a jumping-off point that morning. The sunken road is immediately west of the village of Beaumont Hamel, just off road D163.
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5 comments:

  1. Bryan AlexanderAugust 24, 2018 at 10:17 AM

    I'm still amazed. What a hard shot to get.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jip MeijerAugust 24, 2018 at 2:04 PM

    It is a still from a film. Also the troops waiting in the sunken Road for the attack were filmed

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jip MeijerAugust 24, 2018 at 2:20 PM

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g8YfJmwY5Uo

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jip MeijerAugust 24, 2018 at 2:23 PM

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3Sb7urnjEaE

    Troops in the sunken Road preparing for battle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bryan AlexanderAugust 24, 2018 at 3:07 PM

      Ah, thank you, Jip. Two great clips. And it is much, much easier to get a still from a film than to take a short of something so sudden.

      Delete

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