Vintage: WorldWar1 submarine U-118 at Hastings (1919)

12 August 2022 0

U-118 was to be transferred to France, but while in tow from Harwich to Brest, in company with UB-121, in the early hours of 15 April 1919, she broke tow in a storm, and ran aground on the beach at Hastings in Sussex at approximately 00:45, directly in front of the Queens Hotel. Initially, there were attempts to displace the…

Vintage: Trench Rats Killed by Terriers During World War I

22 February 2018 0

The trench soldier of World War I had to cope with millions of rats. The omnipresent rats were attracted by the human waste of war – not simply sewage waste but also the bodies of men long forgotten who had been buried in the trenches and often reappeared after heavy rain or shelling. Two or three rats would always be…

Vintage: Daily Life of Paris during World War I by Charles Lansiaux

1 November 2017 0

Charles Lansiaux (1855-1939) became a photographer at the end of the 19th century. He established his own business in 1903, describing his company purpose as “Artistic and industrial photography, city works, emergency works, interior photography with artificial light, enlargements, amateur documentary photography.” At the beginning of the war in 1914, he started documenting daily life in Paris, far from the…

Vintage: Paris during World War I by Charles Lansiaux

30 October 2017 0

Charles Lansiaux (1855-1939) became a photographer at the end of the 19th century. He established his own business in 1903, describing his company purpose as “Artistic and industrial photography, city works, emergency works, interior photography with artificial light, enlargements, amateur documentary photography.” At the beginning of the war in 1914, he started documenting daily life in Paris, far from the…

Vintage: Soldiers during World War I (1914-1918)

1 July 2017 0

Despite the chaotic nature of war, the lives of soldiers followed relatively predictable schedules. Soldiers rose before dawn each morning, around 5 a.m. They performed standing drills called “Stand-to-Arms,” then received a daily ration of rum around 5:30 a.m. Soldiers continued performing standing drills until approximately 7 a.m., when they received breakfast. Breakfast for soldiers typically consisted of bacon and…

Vintage: The sinking and raising of U-Boat 110 (1918)

25 June 2017 0

This collection is taken from an album of photographs found in the Swan Hunter shipbuilders collection at Tyne & Wear Archives. The album is from 1918 and documents the U.B. 110 before she was scrapped on the dry docks of Swan Hunter Wigham Richardson Ltd, Wallsend. The twin-screw German submarine U.B. 110 was built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg. On…

Vintage: The Harlem Hellfighters – 369th Infantry Regiment during World War I

5 April 2017 0

On 5 October 1917 long time secretary to Booker T. Washington, Emmett J. Scott was appointed Special Assistant to Newton D. Baker, the Secretary of War. Emmett was to serve as a confidential advisor in situations that involved the well-being of ten million African-Americans and their roles in the war. While many African Americans who served in the Great War…

Vintage: Soldiers Swimming and Playing in the Water during World War I

27 March 2017 0

Time spent out of the line at least offered the opportunity for the frontline soldier to get clean. Communal baths would be set up and lice-infested clothing steam-cleaned. The chance to be clean was another essential prop to morale.

Vintage: Soldiers during World War I (1914-1918)

3 February 2017 0

Life for soldiers in World War I followed a specific routine that involved waking up at around 5 a.m., performing military drills when not engaged in direct combat, eating breakfast, having an early dinner, sleeping briefly, performing more military exercises and then doing physical labor before retiring for the evening. Soldiers in World War I spent most of the time…

Vintage: Women at work during World War I

14 August 2016 0

With men recruited for the armed forces, the industrial workforce changed. Women took on previously male-dominated roles in industry during the war, working alongside men in reserved occupations. Women made an increasingly varied contribution, working in labs, mills and factories, sometimes in hazardous circumstances.