AUSTRALIA IN THE WAR

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 22, 26 January 1924, Page 17

AUSTRALIA IN THE WAR

'Official History of Australia in., the . War 0f'1914-18. Vol. XH.,: Photographic Record of the War." Sydney : Angus and Robertson..

Two years ago there was exhibited, in the chief cities of Australia a large number of Official War Photographs, some of them measuring as much as, 20 x 15 feet' and 16 x, 8 feet. All told, they numbered 268. The subjects were taken on all fronts in which Australians serv-, ed: Egypt, Gallipoli, France, Palestine. The exhibition made a profound impression on all Australians who-saw them, for they gave a better idea than any ■written description' could,- of what the men had to do and the conditions under which;they did it. The,exhibition was an epic in photography. It will, no doubt, be difficult for those who saw that exhibition to ever efface from their minds pictures that were burned deeply in them of what the sol. dier had to suffer. Now there has just been published the photographic, record, in review as a volume of the Official History of Australia in the War. It is a heavy work as to weight,' because it contains nearly 800 pictures, all printeo on smooth art paper. The work begins with a typical scene outside the office of a great Melbourne daily, when the first word of the outbreak of war was posted up for public information, and it closes with a picture relating to the campaign ,for the! raising of War Loans in Australia.- Butit is not to be inferred from the titles of the first and ..the last photographs .that space has been tekan up to any great extent by pictures, that do not bear directly and with ghastly realism upon the- actual fighting in the three great theatres of the war: the Western Front, Gallipoli, and Palestine. There are some terribly eloquent photographs -of the "real thing," pictures that most have involved the photographers in. grave personal risks. As a matter of-.fact, several photographs are included, upon-which, it is stated, that those who took them were subsequently : killed. . '; The pictures were not-jabtained without great difficulty apart altogether from the hazards run in, operating cameras right ud into the actual firing line and during advances into the enemy's trenches. There was the very formidable obstacle of. what.at first glance seemed like red tape .to be surmounted. In the early stages of the war,- and fo~ probably very excellent military reasons, war. correspondents -and photographers were not allowed at the front, and those few who aanagedi for a few adventurous days (writes i Captain C. E. W. Bean in the preface), to avoid arrest during the ijeteeat' from Mong and a •week or so, afterwards, were quickly and unsparingly ■ routed out of France. Subsequently even when .■ correspondents were allowed in strictly limited numbers to be attached, to headquarters, the photographers were rigorou&ly barred. Afterwards, in 1915, this barrage against the camera (except for strictly military purposes) was lifted sp far as, the British operations in France and : Belgium were concerned. There was "no such strict rule; in regard Ju the Gallipoli1 campagin. When official photographers were eventually permitted (likewise artists) they .were properly appointed and maintained as officers. In this way Captains J. ,F. Hur^; fey and G. H. Wilkiiis'and other officers were appointed official photographers with the Australians.. Hurley had already done, some magnificent work; but of a quite different kind, when he was photographing on the Sha'ckleton Antarctic Expedition—in fact,, his work done on that occasion,was publicly shown in Wellington, and he himself lectured here His associate, Captain Wilkins, strange tb say, was also engaged on polar work and was. with the Stefansspn Artie Expedition; but he did notihear about the war until two years "after it had begun Lieutenant* H. F, Baldiviu : and >J. P. Campbell and other officers in the Australian Imperial Force were also official photographers. .Their work is supplemented m.this record by -British Government and borrowed photographs photographic record forms Vol. All. of the,series, but it is the fourth •volume so far to be issued...< Until the •whole set is completed this pictorial description will be .the. only Australian record of the war as a whole. And it- is a most impressive record, too, for the reader is assured that the pictures' liave not been retouched or "doctored" in any _way, and some of them are necessarily, foggy or hazy. The .wonder is that the faking of go many of them was possible, right in the. very thick of the fighting. Every picture is annotated and contains a brief account oi the, particular, incident recorded Reference figures are put at the end ot every note to other volumes in which the full text the pictures illustrate is contained. . . ;

.-The utmost cars hag evidently been taken to verify every incident on photographic record; in fact, it is stated that Rome of the photographs were sent to jßuts concerned (in some , cases while they were still on the ground. where taken) for correction or verification. This ■was m order to have the facts recorded with absolute accuracy. ■ The work is one that will probably make a far wxder appeal to Australians and New considering how close were their relations, than any written ac*uU"a of the various operations'in; which the Anazc troops together or apart were engaged. It is work extremely.' well none land a testimony to the valour 01 the war photographers. .