Official war photography and public perceptions of the war

This presentation explores the work of the key photographers on the Western Front, the different attitudes of the imperial governments and the effects on the viewing public. It also shows that the old cliché that the home front did not understand the actual conditions in the trenches is a myth. The war could be seen even if it was in a highly controlled manner.

Understanding the realities of the fighting fronts remained a major preoccupation of the British people throughout the First World War.

Journalists and writers attempted to create pen pictures describing the conditions at the front and the nature of battle. The thousands of column inches and pages dedicated to these issues were only partially effective in meeting the public desire to understand. The public wanted to see the war for themselves.

As many began to realise, photography and film were the new methods of dealing with this need. During the course of the conflict the governments of the British Empire working in conjunction with the major newspapers developed major photographic operations. The public responded to the publication and exhibition of photographs with huge enthusiasm. Here, they believed, was the real war in front of their eyes. However, many of the images were far from pure documents being highly manipulated and staged to achieve the desire effect.