Almost
all of my World War One material is by H. D. Girdwood, an English company,
who sold their views under the trade name 'Realistic Travels'. Most of
their views are of a higher quality than WWI views by Underwood although,
due to the high gloss, they do not scan very well. They will therefore
almost all be of far higher quality than they appear on the screen.
Please
click here for a high quality
scan which gives a true indication of the quality.
Underwood
photographers were not present on the battlefield sites between 1916 when
the Kaiser said he could not guarantee the safety of war photographers,
and the end of hostilities in 1918. Girdwood's views therefore have more
immediacy and action. They were issued in sets of between 50 and 500 views
so the numbering sequence is pretty muddled. Customers could also pick
out the views they required and so a box or collection may have non-sequential
numbering. They come on Underwood-type mounts or on lighter mounts with
curved or beveled edges. These are interchangeable and most views appear
on both types of mount.
Our
valued American customers may ask why there are practically no US troops
in these views. The reason is simple; despite Holywood rewriting history,
most of these views were taken between 1915 and 1917 when the USA was a
neutral country.
These
are ALL condition 8, 9 or 10 and priced at $8 each unless otherwise mentioned.
Size differences are caused by scanner settings.
'Hun
sacrilege, the desecrated crucifix by the roadside near Wancourt, on the
battlefield of Arras'.
Order
#12726.
'After
the fury of a great battle'.
Order
#12727.
'Army
Corps H.Q. of Sir Douglas Haig hit by German shells in 1914, several of
his staff being killed'.
Order
#12728.
'A cherry
tree and windows shattered by fragments of shell, behind British front'.
Order
#12729.
'The
result of a bombardment; shell craters and building wrecked by German shells'.
Order
#12730.
'How
the Germans devastated France. Lille, once a prosperous manufacturing town'.
Order
#12731.
'How
the Germans devastated France. Lille, a once prosperous manufacturing town'.
Order
#12732.
'The
Hun vandal, French village set on fire wantonly by the Germans in their
retreat'.
Order
#12733.
'Bells
of Villers-Bretonneux Church, erected after the German repulse removed
the menace to Amiens'.
Order
#12734.
'The
beautiful church at Merville, which is now a heap of ruins'.
Order
#12735.
'Mariakerke,
shelled by British Monitors in battles which loosened the enemy's hold
on Flanders coast'.
Order
#12736.
'Grand
Place, Bethune, set on fire by Hun artillery after all attempts to break
our line were defeated'.
Order
#12737.
'Smoldering
Bethune, ignited by Bosche guns to vent their spite for their costly defeat
at Festubert'.
Order
#12738.
'Shell-riddled
church at Richbourg; a mute witness to the Huns' disregard for sacred places'.
Order
#12740.
'Inspecting
the ruins of the once beautiful Richbourg Cathedral'.
Order
#12741.
'Where
the flower of our Army hurled back the Prussian Guards, Beury Chateau,
?????'.
Order
#12742.
'Notre
Dame, Armentieres, a mute witness to desperate fighting in '14 and critical
days in Battle of Lys'.
Order
#12743.
'All
that is left of the village of La Bassee, scene of many historic battles'.
Order
#12744.
'A devastated
village. La Bassee after the Germans had left it'.
Order
#12745.
'Battle-scarred
Ypres, from the ramparts where British troops held the Gateway to the Channel
Ports'.
Order
#12747.
'A favourite
Hun target, the riddled crucifix at La Clyte, Ypres, every scar a reproach
to the Hun "Kultur"'.
Order
#12748.
'Battered
but still standing, the 17th century Abbey Towers, Mont St Eloi, Ypres
salient'.
Order
#12749.
'Where
the Germans first attacked with poison gas, the famous St Julien advanced
dressing station'.
Order
#12751.
Keystone.
'The world-renowned cathedral of Reims, France. Ruined by the Germans'.
Long descriptive text.
Order
#12753.
'Evacuated
after terrific bombardment by gas shell during battle of Lys, Armentieres
- St Vaast Church'.
Order
#12754.
'Hun
sacrilege. Desecrated church of Notre Dame at Armentiers'.
Order
#12755.
'Testifying
to the furious Hun assaults on Kemmel Hill, April 1918, the destroyed chapel
on the summit'.
Order
#12756.
'Where
the flower of our army hurled back the Prussian Guards, Beury Chateau,
Festubert'.
Order
#12757.
'Bosche
prisoner escorted by French troops, in front of Albert Cathedral, wrecked
by shell-fire'.
Order
#12758.
'Ruins
of the church at Queant, shattered in the fierce struggles for the "impregnable"
Wotan Line'.
Order
#12759.
'French
graves smashed by German shell fire; a German sniper was discovered hidden
in a coffin'.
Order
#12760.
'The
breach in the Mole, Zeebrugge, made by the daring exploit of the submarine
under Lt Sandford'.
Order
#12761.
'Watching
effect of German bombardment on a French village'.
Order
#12762.
'The
result of a bombardment; shell craters and building wrecked by German shells'.
Order
#12763.
'Examining
fragments of shell in craters before buildings wrecked by shell-fire'.
Order
#12764.
Keystone
'Searching the ruins, "Somewhere in France"'. Long descriptive text.
Order
#12765.
'In the
path of the Hun. Church wrecked by German shells'.
Order
#12766.
'The
High Altar amid the ruins of the shell-wrecked Richbourge Cathedral'.
Order
#12767.
Keystone
'"Miracle of Lucy", France - Unharmed crucifix amidst total ruin'. Long
descriptive text.
Order
#12768.
'Anxious
days in 1914, details thrown in to help check the German break-through'.
Order
#12769.
'The
shattered ruins of Albert, lost and retaken in critical days of the great
German offensive'.
Order
#12770.
'The
chalk pits at Loos, seized and held by 2nd Brigade of Guards against furious
counter attacks'.
Order
#12771.
'Arteries
of communication to the front line on the Yser, Belgian light railway with
elephant shelters'.
Order
#12772.
Keystone
'Alincourt, France. German ammunition camp destroyed by Allied airmen'.
Long descriptive text.
Order
#12773.
Keystone
'German ammunition depot after visit of French airmen, Alincourt, Ardennes'.
Long descriptive text.
Order
#12774.
Keystone
'"Enemy airmen successfully bombed one of our supply trains", Official
Report'. Long descriptive text.
Order
#12775.
'Gurkhas
marching up to the devastated zone'.
Order
#12776.
'The
battered sugar refinery at Le Transloy taken by the Australians at the
point of a bayonet'.
Order
#12777.
'Ypres
and its ruined Cloth Hall, where British heroism shone resplendant through
the darkest hours'.
Order
#12778.
'The
ruined Cloth Hall at Ypres as it looked in 1916'.
Order
#12779.
'West
door of the Cathedral at Ypres in 1916'.
Order
#12780.
To page one - Troops on the move
To page four - Guns and gunners
To page five - In the trenches, over the top, fixed defenses, communications, materiel
To page seven - Battlefield landscapes, prisoners
To page nine - The wounded, the fallen, war graves
