C.E.F. Grenadier Guards 87th Battalion, in trenches together at Armentieres, Feb. 1915 – photo by Horace Brown. Courtesy: National Archives of Canada, Doc. Art and Photography Div., PA- I07237.
Toronto.In issue 15-5, another fine article by Andrew Rodger was reproduced from ‘Archivaria’, the magazine of the NAC up Ottawa way. The photo at left, adjusted in Topaz AI and Affinity Photo. is from Andrew’s article.
Andrew begins the article titled ‘Amateur Photography by Soldiers of the Canadian Expeditionary Force‘, “At the outbreak of war in 1914, governments and military authorities in both Canada and Britain gave themselves very wide powers of control over publications and photography, the stated fear being that the enemy might learn valuable information through photographs.
“This fear was so exaggerated in Britain that, under the Defense of the Realm Act, photographers even found themselves “in conflict with authority for innocently portraying a peasant at work in the fields, or a fishing boat at sea. Moreover, military personnel were ignoring the General Routine Orders prohibiting “the taking of photographs and the send- ing of drawings and photographs to the Press.”
“Shortly after the Canadian Expeditionary Force arrived in France, Routine Order 189 ordered that “all cameras are to be sent home, each camera being examined by the censor before the parcel is passed by him, to ensure that there is no film in it.”
Members could read the full article in the pdf file for issue 15-5 on the ‘free to members’ DVD. Not yet a member? See the ‘MEMBERSHIP’ menu item above and/or the Membership paragraph at the right and sign up today! Questions? Give Lilianne Schneider, our Membership Secretary, an email at member@phsc.ca.
Of course collectors should attend our fall events to check out the photography items that just might suit their collection. Next up is our fall fair on October 20th. A poster with details goes up on the site here in mid September.
Note: the title of this post is a riff on the film title, “Oh! What a Lovely War“.
