The battle of Passchendaele in Belgium in 1917
Toronto. Anyone who studied Shakespeare will recognize the title of this post as part of a line from one of his sonnets (#73). It is fitting to use it in a post noting the importance of photography and photographers in war-time settings.
The image at left was taken at a famous Canadian battle in Belgium during WW1. Films have been made of the WW1 conflict, poems written, books written, and plays produced. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to those brave souls who swapped a gun for a camera to record the events of the wars for future readers and viewers. You can see more images here at our war museum.
I had uncles and grandfathers in both world wars. One uncle was in the American army; the rest Canadian. Fortunately only a couple of more distant relatives died in those horrific battles.
Food for thought: War is brutal and continues to breakout – even today. Photography is an immense help in showing us just how terrible such conflicts are. Words and drawings alone cannot convey the impact upon us all.
