The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Photographic tribute to those who died in GreatWar
Some of the most far-flung resting places of Commonwealth soldiers who died during World War I are highlighted in a new photographic book published to coincide with the centenary of the conflict.
From the African desert to a Scottish loch, For the Fallen captures the stories behind war graves and memorials across the world in what is being billed as a photographic tribute to the unsung heroes of the Great War and the tireless work of the Commonwealth War Graves Comission (CWGC), which maintains more than 23,000 locations across the world.
Photo journalistMichael St Maur Sheil visited hundreds of sites to bring to life the stories behind them, from a soldier buried alongside his twin, who died the same day, in Saskatchewan, Canada, to the memorial by the Tower of London dedicated to 12,000 men lost at sea.
Accompanied by a commentary from Peter Francis, from the CWGC, the photos give an insight into the sheer number and spread of war graves and the commission’s work in maintaining them. From headstones in the remote Namib Desert to those in the undergrowth of Buff Bay in Jamaica, and from an isolated grave on a tiny island on Loch Shiel to the 72,000 names on the Thiepval Memorial in France, the book aims to commemorate some of history’smostdevastating battles and the men and women who fought and died in them.
Mr Sheil said “I did not want the book to be just a collection of stones and crosses but rather wanted to show the cemeteries within the landscape.
“The CWGC works in an amazing range of climatic and geographical regions so I wanted show that extent and show the landscapes where these men died. They were all equal places of death and m My job was really to reflect the extent of CWGC work in caring for these graves wherever they may be.
“The handful of men buried at Trekkopje in the Namib desert are just as ‘ dead’ and were just as missed by their families as the mass of men in Tyne Cot.” He said the most memorable spot for him was the grave of Donald Pollack, who is buried alongside his twin brother in Saskatchewan.
“One can only imagine the happy scene as he returned from the war to be greeted by his family and especially his twin brother, Alexander.
“And one can only imagine the horror and misery for hismotheras he fell sick with influenza and infected his brother.
“How terrible it must have been for her to watch her two sons, born on the same day, dying on the same day.”
:: For The Fallen, with photographs by Michael St Maur Sheil and words by Peter Francis, is published today, October 1 (AA Publishing, £25).