18 Januari 2016

World War I in colour: Rare photographs capture the lives

 

  • Rare colour photos capture what life was like for soldiers away from the fighting on the Western Front
  • Some images show soldiers washing their clothes in village fountains, other show them reading newspapers
  • Remarkable set of pictures was taken in France in 1917, the fourth year of fighting in the First World War 
From washing their clothes in village fountains to eating lunches next to bombed-out buildings, these rare colour photographs capture what daily life was like for soldiers away from the battlefield on the Western Front.
The images, captured using the Lumière brothers’ Autochrome colour process, were all taken in 1917, the fourth year of the First World War. They document how members of the Allied Forces spent quieter moments away from the fighting.
In one picture, a group of around half a dozen French soldiers is seen waiting outside a grocery store in Reims, a city in north-eastern France.  Another shows four uniformed troops relaxing as they read the newspaper outside a kiosk in Rexpoede, less than 10 miles south of Dunkirk.
The remarkable set also shed light on the important role Senegalese servicemen played in the force. They are seen relaxing in a room lined with weapon, standing watch in a town and preparing to fight on the frontline alongside their French counterparts.   
And while there are no photos of the gunfight or life in the trenches, the images do hint at the warfare going on beyond these seemingly peaceful snapshots of daily life.  
Charred shells of buildings in Dunkirk were photographed in the wake of one German air raid, while other images show French soldiers camouflaging railway guns ahead of an offensive on German forces.

Senegalese soldiers serving in the French Army as infantrymen rest in a room surrounded by weapons in Saint-Ulrich, France on 16 June
Senegalese soldiers serving in the French Army as infantrymen rest in a room surrounded by weapons in Saint-Ulrich, France on 16 June

A French soldier observes the scene from a lookout point in Eglingen, France
French soldiers buy newspapers in Rexpoede on 6 September
A French soldier at a lookout in Eglingen, France on 26 June 1917. Right, French soldiers buy newspapers in Rexpoede on 6 September

A little girl is seen holding her doll as she sits next to two guns and a military knapsack on a street in Reims, northern France, in 1917
A little girl is seen holding her doll as she sits next to two guns and a military knapsack on a street in Reims, northern France, in 1917

This dramatic photograph shows soldiers standing on a ridge above a crater 45m deep created by mines placed by British forces underneath German positions near Messines in West Flanders on 7 June 1917. Some 10,000 soldiers died in the bla
This dramatic photograph shows soldiers standing on a ridge above a crater 45m deep created by mines placed by British forces underneath German positions near Messines in West Flanders on 7 June 1917. Some 10,000 soldiers died in the blast

A French soldier has lunch in front of a damaged library in a square in Reims, in north-eastern France on 1 April 1917
A French soldier has lunch in front of a damaged library in a square in Reims, in north-eastern France on 1 April 1917

French soldiers in front of a grocery store, with signs advertising liquor and wine in the windows, in the market square in Reims in 1917
French soldiers in front of a grocery store, with signs advertising liquor and wine in the windows, in the market square in Reims in 1917
French military doctors and nurses are photographed in front of Saint-Paul Hospital in Soissons, Aisne, in northern France
French military doctors and nurses are photographed in front of Saint-Paul Hospital in Soissons, Aisne, in northern France

A French officer inspects the barbed wire around French positions in Soissons, which was heavily damaged by artillery fire during the war
A French officer inspects the barbed wire around French positions in Soissons, which was heavily damaged by artillery fire during the war

A French observation post with three soldiers in a trench reinforced with wooden beams and sand bags close to the German lines, taken at Hirtzbach, Department Haut-Rhin, Region Alsace, on 16 June 1917
A French observation post with three soldiers in a trench reinforced with wooden beams and sand bags close to the German lines, taken at Hirtzbach, Department Haut-Rhin, Region Alsace, on 16 June 1917

A camp of workers from the British Chinese Labour Corps recruited to participate in the Middle East campaign photographed in 1917
A camp of workers from the British Chinese Labour Corps recruited to participate in the Middle East campaign photographed in 1917

An Algerian guard on a bridge
Algerian worker after the retreat of the Germans
Worker from Indochina on the Western Front
An Algerian guard, left, an Algerian worker, centre, and a worker from Indochina in Soissons, Aisne, France, all in 1917

Two French soldiers assigned to a telephone station wash their laundry in a trough of a fountain, in Largitzen, France on 18 June 1917
Two French soldiers assigned to a telephone station wash their laundry in a trough of a fountain, in Largitzen, France on 18 June 1917

Five French soldiers are clearing the rubble in the ruins of Reims, which was almost 60 per cent destroyed by German artillery and air raids
Five French soldiers are clearing the rubble in the ruins of Reims, which was almost 60 per cent destroyed by German artillery and air raids

Wounded soldiers from the battlefield recover at Saint-Paul Hospital in Soissons, which was twice captured by the Germans during the war
Wounded soldiers from the battlefield recover at Saint-Paul Hospital in Soissons, which was twice captured by the Germans during the war

Four French guards and Swiss guards at the border between Switzerland and France in Pfetterhouse,  Region Alsace on 19 June 1917
Four French guards and Swiss guards at the border between Switzerland and France in Pfetterhouse, Region Alsace on 19 June 1917
A horse cart is loaded with furniture and personal belongings in front of a leather goods shop on 4 May 1917 as residents prepared to to leave Reims during the Second Battle of the Aisne which ended in defeat for the French forces
A horse cart is loaded with furniture and personal belongings in front of a leather goods shop on 4 May 1917 as residents prepared to to leave Reims during the Second Battle of the Aisne which ended in defeat for the French forces

A group of Senegalese soldiers serving in the French Army as infantryman have lunch in Saint-Ulrich, Region Alsace on 16 June 1917
A group of Senegalese soldiers serving in the French Army as infantryman have lunch in Saint-Ulrich, Region Alsace on 16 June 1917

A French section of machine gunners takes position in the ruins during the battle of the Aisne, on the Western Front in 1917
A French section of machine gunners takes position in the ruins during the battle of the Aisne, on the Western Front in 1917

French fire fighters, military and civilians try to prevent fires from spreading after the bombings of September 2 and 3 in Dunkirk
French fire fighters, military and civilians try to prevent fires from spreading after the bombings of September 2 and 3 in Dunkirk

Two French soldiers are taking care of their laundry using boards set up on the trough of a fountain near a farm house in the town of Gildwiller, Department Haut-Rhin, Region Alsace on 21 June 1917
In a frontline trench in Hirtzbach on 16 June 1917
Two French soldiers are taking care of their laundry using boards set up on the trough of a fountain near a farm house in the town of Gildwiller, Department Haut-Rhin, Region Alsace on 21 June 1917, left. Right, in a trench on the frontline in Hirtzbach on 16 June 1917

A woman with a cart filled with milk cans and a man with another cart in Rue de Talleyrand, Reims, France on 3 March 1917
A woman with a cart filled with milk cans and a man with another cart in Rue de Talleyrand, Reims, France on 3 March 1917

The towers of the Cathedral Notre-Dame de Reims  can be seen through the damaged windows of a building in the city in 3 April 1917
The towers of the Cathedral Notre-Dame de Reims can be seen through the damaged windows of a building in the city in 3 April 1917

Uniformed doctors and nurses stand in front of field hospital 55 in Bourbourg, northern France on 1 September 1917
Uniformed doctors and nurses stand in front of field hospital 55 in Bourbourg, northern France on 1 September 1917

Two French soldiers from Africa heat up a meal on an outdoor fireplace made from bricks in Soissons, Aisne, France, in 1917
Two French soldiers from Africa heat up a meal on an outdoor fireplace made from bricks in Soissons, Aisne, France, in 1917

Two French soldiers at a narrow railroad track near the French near the village of Boezinge, north of the city of Ypres on 10 September 1917
Two French soldiers at a narrow railroad track near the French near the village of Boezinge, north of the city of Ypres on 10 September 1917

Two Senegalese soldiers, both of the Bambara people, serving in the French Army pictured in Balschwiller, France on 22 June 1917
Two Senegalese soldiers, both of the Bambara people, serving in the French Army pictured in Balschwiller, France on 22 June 1917

French soldiers dressed in their blue military uniforms camouflage a 370 mm railway gun in Noyon, Region Oise, on 5 September 1917
French soldiers dressed in their blue military uniforms camouflage a 370 mm railway gun in Noyon, Region Oise, on 5 September 1917

Two French soldiers and horses in the cloister of the abbey de Saint-Jean-des-Vignes, which was heavily damaged by artillery fire
Two French soldiers and horses in the cloister of the abbey de Saint-Jean-des-Vignes, which was heavily damaged by artillery fire

French soldiers of the 370th Infantry Regiment are eating soup during the battle of the Aisne, on the Western Front in 1917
French soldiers of the 370th Infantry Regiment are eating soup during the battle of the Aisne, on the Western Front in 1917

Three Swiss border guards, left, stand opposite a French guard at the border between the two countries in Beurnevesin on 19 June 1917
Three Swiss border guards, left, stand opposite a French guard at the border between the two countries in Beurnevesin on 19 June 1917

A group of Swiss border guards behind a fence between Switzerland and France, in the Department Haut-Rhin, on 19 June 1917
A group of Swiss border guards behind a fence between Switzerland and France, in the Department Haut-Rhin, on 19 June 1917

Damaged buildings after the bombings of September 10 and 11 in the town of RosendaÎl, near Dunkirk, on 11 September 1917
Damaged buildings after the bombings of September 10 and 11 in the town of RosendaÎl, near Dunkirk, on 11 September 1917

Eight French soldiers stand on top of a 370mm railway gun which they are camouflaging on 5 September 1917
Eight French soldiers stand on top of a 370mm railway gun which they are camouflaging on 5 September 1917

A military cemetery on a hillside in the town of Moosch in Alsace containing graves of the Chasseurs Alpins, the elite mountain infantry of the French Army
A military cemetery on a hillside in the town of Moosch in Alsace containing graves of the Chasseurs Alpins, the elite mountain infantry of the French Army

Two ambulance vehicles in front of a building near the village of Boezinge, north of the city of Ypres, that was devastated by artillery fire
Two ambulance vehicles in front of a building near the village of Boezinge, north of the city of Ypres, that was devastated by artillery fire

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