Roll call of 1st Battalion of Lancashire Fusiliers

Despite the variation in ways that soldiers could be depicted through photography, there was a clear limit to what photographs could communicate about battle, and the war effort.

This photograph by British official photographer Lt. Ernest Brooks depicts members of the 1st Battalion of Lancashire Fusiliers in a trench, taking roll call on the afternoon of 1 July 1916, the opening day of the Battle of the Somme. This image reflects the limitations of First World War photography, specifically the photographer’s inability to capture the gravity of battle. Despite the fact that this image depicts troops in the aftermath of the opening day of the Somme, after their initial attack on Beaumont-Hamel, during which the British Army sustained its heaviest losses in a single day up to that point, the image itself does not depict the gravity of this situation. First World War photographers were limited, in that they could not easily record battle for several reasons. Not only would attempting to photograph during a battle be incredibly dangerous, but also the nature of battle in the First World War was not conducive to photography. The manner in which troops left trenches and approached the enemy was not something that could be depicted easily, with the situation made worse by constant movement, the wide scale of battle, and dense smoke of the battlefield. Therefore, First World War photographers were generally limited to images of troops outside battle, in their leisure time, or during mundane duty, such as this image. Despite these limitations, such images still had propaganda value. Propagandists were eager, especially later in the war, that depictions of the war be truthful, but still encouraging. This image of British troops in the aftermath of the Somme therefore could be used to represent British determination; despite the devastation of the battle, the troops remain apparently staunch, committed, and resilient. Therefore, while this image fails to capture the scale and drama of battle, it retains emotional resonance.