A newspaper’s quest to identify soldiers featured in recently discovered photos from the First World War has prompted an urgent appeal for help.
The Independent is urging the public to ‘help it solve the mysteries of unknown soldiers’ featured in 270 photos that have turned up in a French barn.
The images – found among a stash of glass plates – have been printed, scanned and digitally stored, having previously been destined for the rubbish bin, according to the newspaper.
‘Their origin is shrouded in mystery and the questions they raise are manifold,’ the newspaper tells readers via its website.
The photos are believed to have been captured by a French amateur photographer between 1915-16.
It is thought that the soldiers would have paid the photographer to take their portraits which would have been sent to families back home.
‘Sometimes, the Tommies are snapped individually in front of the same battered door or in a pear and apple orchard,’ reports the paper.
For further details – and to view some of the images – visit The Independent website
