Photographer Frank Hurley
The Camouflaged Road To Menin
This road and area was part of what was called “Hellfire Corner”. Basically, the Germans were in position in the northeast ridge and would keep this area under constant surveillance. It was said that to dawdle here was suicidal. The Allies put up this screen on the North Side that would obscure their passage through the main road(s).
A Flight of Bombing Planes 1st Australian Flying Corps, Palestine
Beautiful Frank Hurley aerial shot of World War 1 Figher planes flying in formation above the clouds. Can you count how planes are in this picture?
54 Battery Australian Siege Artillery In Action
The movement involved in keeping divisions well armed during combat is staggering. Artillery is heavy. Here, we see the Australian soldiers loading carts on makeshift tracks to arm the guns you see in the back of the photo. You can see just how much munitions are in the photograph capturing a single moment in time.
The Battle-Scarred Barracks Ypres
This Frank Hurley photograph depicts the troops in Ypres the site of many battles and casualties. It looks like this is a barrack for soldiers to rest in. You can see the sandbags pilled up in every window sill in an effort to fortify the structure against attack.
A Refugee in the Cellars of Ypres
A nice scene showing some leisurely moments of the troops in barracks chatting, playing cards, etc. It’s a great scene of what a lot of trench life entailed. Frank Hurley (1885-1962)
The Ruined Cathedral in Ypres, seen from the Cloth Hall
This is another Frank Hurley photograph that tells an amazing story through a riveting scene. First the destroyed cathedral is framed in the arch of another building which really focuses the view on the wreck. The detail in the architecture of the cathedral is amazingly vivid and clear. But the lone soldier gazing upon it is what makes this image so special.
Carrying in the Wounded During the Height of the Battle
Several of Frank Hurley’s photograph are very controversial. We always expect photographs (from this and comparable eras) to be photo-realistic and authentic. Hurley as “the artist” felt that a whole picture and experience of the war is important as an artistic expression. For some of his photograph, Hurley combined the two or more negatives by overlapping the scenes to create a new situation made up of separate events. This picture is an example. You’ll see the explosion in the distance, with wounded men being led to shelter, while soldier seemingly oblivious to the wounded are looking back. The main figure pictured looks like a German soldier as well who of course would not be sitting so casually with Allied troops. (Warning: Combined Negatives used to ‘create’ the scene you see).
A Machine Descending to the Hangars of the 1st Australian Flying Corps
A beautiful aerial picture taken by Frank Hurley of a biplane from the 1st Australian Flying Corps high above the airfield. There is another picture at ground level that shows a close up of an Aussie plane. It’s amazing to see the full view of just how undeveloped a lot of this area was.
Australian Flying Corps Airplanes
Another Frank Hurley (1885-1962) photograph from Palestine. The planes pictured belonged to the 1st Australian Flying Corps. It’s a little known fact that pilots often were permitted to fly for fun in between bombing run and “off hours”.
Infantry Moving To The Front
Arguably one of the most iconic photographs of the First World War, Frank Hurley (1885-1962) famously took this picture of infantry soldiers moving into the evening to take their positions at the Front. The silhouetted soldiers captured in motion with their reflections clear in the calm, serene lake against the pale and grim landscape is simply breathtaking.
ANZAC Soldier With Donkeys
Frank Hurley (1885-1962) snapped this photograph of an ANZAC soldier with some donkey “friends”. ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) were a brave part of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force whose most famous involvement was the disastrous Battle of Gallipoli in modern day Turkey.
Early Trench in Front Lines
You can’t get much clearer than this. This is a trench on the Front Lines. You can tell by the simple and poor construction of the trench that it’s likely before the stalemate phase of the war set it. Trench systems became extremely elaborate construction with levels, offices, wings, etc. Here there’s really not much more than a pit or ditch in the ground with little supports. Picture taken by Frank Hurley (1885-1962).
Reminiscenses of Home – Aussies chaff-making in Flanders
More ANZAC soldiers are captured here chaff-making. Chaff is the inedible husks left after the kernal and wheat fruit are removed. Chaff is often added to horse feed which is what you see pictured. Basically it’s harmless for the horses (nutritionally useless) but makes the horse feed last longer. You could almost call it equine rationing.
Scene in an Advanced Dressing Station During a Battle
This looks like another photo taken of the dressing station at Hill 60. However, I may be mistaken. Frank Hurley (1885-1961) took several pictures that look quite similar. What interesting to notice is just how many people are packed into these small areas. But if you look close, you’ll see a lot going on. There’s a soldier attending to an injured infantry man. The soldier front and center appears dazed or lost in deep thought. The two soldiers front and to the left are presumably scribbling away at letters to loved ones, while the eeriest of all, is the soldier to the right who looks uninjured physically…. but his facial expression says it all.
Conducting a Battle in a Shell Proof Dugout
Frank Hurley (1885-1961) took amazing close up photographs of soldiers at work. In this era, photographs of human subjects more often capture awkward expressionless posing. But here, we see commanding officers in a dugout in a moment where they are planning their next move. If you look to the table, you’ll see plates, fine glasses, wine, and maps tacked on the wall above. This is a planning/strategy session caught in the ‘moment’.
The Shell-Shattered Area of Chateau Wood Flanders
Another iconic image captured by Frank Hurley (1885-1961) photographer. This is an eerie and revealing moment caught on film. First, there, the utter desolation all around and in the horizon as well. This area used to be a dense forest only the long pillars of the ruins of trees remains. The landscape is pock-marked, smokey and foggy from weather and shells. Of the five soldiers walking along the duckboard track, one stops and poses aware that his photograph is being taken. He is framed by the living hell around him.
Just As It Was
Frank Hurley (1885-1961) called his photograph “Just As It Was” because it is a somber and truthful portrait of a soldiers life. You can see the soldiers walking along the duckboard track with the cratered background behind and all around them. The area is practically leveled. The putrid water, mud, and destruction is so vividly portrayed. It is indeed just as it was… and it was bleak.
Attending to the Wounded in an Advanced Dressing Station on Hill 60
Another moment snapped by Frank Hurley of soldiers dressing the wounded in a dressing station on the famous Hill 60. This was the an area in Ypres Salient where Australian tunnelers placed explosives underneath the ground and blew up German positions. Unfortunately, the momentary victory was soon replaced by the return of the Germans, but it’s still one of the largest mining explosions ever intentionally detonated. The film Beneath Hill 60 retells the story.
The Day Before The Battle – Men and Material
Whenever the lines in the Front advance forward, the troops must move quickly. Supplying, resupplying, and deploying gear and material to fortify territory was the objective in offering the best hope of advancing position and maintaining it. Frank Hurley took this picture of troops the day before battle next to the material that they will be bringing forward.
Rest Stop for The Australian Light Horse Men
Here’s a picture of the world-famous Australian Lighthorse brigade stopped for a rest. All the horses heads are down like drinking water. After all, these horses and humans are living and working in desert conditions. Again, notice all the gear that man and equine alike must carry on the long marches.
In An Elephant Iron Dugout on Hill 60
There’s two things to keep in mind when looking at this photograph. One, you’re seeing the inside of an “elephant iron dugout”. This is a an iron structure in a semi-circle shape with corrugated steel roofing. We see these today in do-it-yourself garage installation, sheds, etc. Two, this is Hill 60 which was a strategically significant high ground on the southern flank of Ypres Salient. The famous Australian tunneling operation depicted in the film Beneath Hill 60 in many ways brings this Frank Hurley (1885-1962) photo to life.
Laying A Duckboard Track
The terrain in the Front was not only dirty, muddy and messy, it was often unstable, marshy and uneven which made movement even more difficult. Duckboard tracks were used extensively during the First World War. They were wooden tracks hastily put together along the grounds of trenches at the Western Front. Because the terrain was often wet and muddy, duckboard helped keep soldiers [feet] try and avoid nasty diseases like Trench Foot, and allowed soldiers to move quickly through the trenches. There are reports of soldier casualties falling off the duckboard track and into the mud head-first. If they were carrying heavy equipment, they would literally drown/suffocate in the heavy mud.
Soldiers Struggling With an 18-pounder
Trench warfare wasn’t the only thing that made it difficult for one side to advance over another. It’s often said that human mobility so badly lagged behind superior firepower which caused a large share of the casualties and is unique to World War I. Frank Hurley’s (1885-1962) photograph illustrates just this point. Here the soldiers are trying to move an Ordnance QF 18 pounder (field gun) through mud and dirt terrain to a new captured ground.
Destroyed Church on the Western Front
You’re seeing what’s left after a battle in the Western Front. The main church structure in the picture is nearly completely destroyed. You can see the collapsing walls in behind the steeple. Here the Allies frame the picture nicely as they pass through. Frank Hurley (1885-1962)
