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IN THE TRENCHES

Incredible black-and-white pics reveal life on the frontline for British soldiers in First World War

Photographer Ernest Brooks' distinguished wartime service led him to be decorated by both France and Belgium and awarded an OBE and British Empire Medal

BRITISH war photographer Ernest Brooks is the man behind thousands of iconic pictures that have come to define our understanding of the First World War.

The trigger happy frontline snapper immortalised British soldiers as they marched to war, fought in the trenches and larked about between battles.

Ernest Brooks, the first British official war photographer to be appointed, posing in a trench on the Western Front
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Ernest Brooks, the first British official war photographer to be appointed, posing in a trench on the Western FrontCredit: Imperial War Museum

By the time the bloodshed ended on November 11, 1918, Brooks had taken a staggering 5,000 photographs - more than a tenth of all official British images taken during the conflict.

The photographer enlisted in the Royal Navy Reserve in January 1915 and kicked off a impressive career documenting both the horrors and humour of life in the trenches.

Over the course of the war he developed a unique style, capturing candid stills of soldiers as well as dramatic silhouettes of allied troops walking along ridges with the sun behind them.

Ironically, Brooks used a German-made Gorez Anschutz camera to take most of his images.

Brooks became known for his dramatic silhouette snaps of soliders
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Brooks became known for his dramatic silhouette snaps of solidersCredit: Alamy
Men of the 8th Battalion, Border Regiment, resting in shallow dugouts in a captured German trench near Thiepval Wood, 3 July 1916
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Men of the 8th Battalion, Border Regiment, resting in shallow dugouts in a captured German trench near Thiepval Wood, 3 July 1916Credit: IWM
A German prisoner captured in the attack on Vampire Farm by Scottish and South African troops
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A German prisoner captured in the attack on Vampire Farm by Scottish and South African troopsCredit: Getty - Contributor
A British soldier stands beside the grave of a comrade near Pilckem during the Third Battle of Ypres, 22 August 1917
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A British soldier stands beside the grave of a comrade near Pilckem during the Third Battle of Ypres, 22 August 1917
Troops of the East Yorkshire Regiment marching towards the trenches near Doullens on 28 June 1916
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Troops of the East Yorkshire Regiment marching towards the trenches near Doullens on 28 June 1916Credit: IWM
WW1 history buff, 61, spends 18 months digging one-acre trench network in Kent field and invites public to live there

His career was not without controversy, however, when he once got caught staging a photo to show troops in a heroic light.

Fellow journalists were furious, the Daily Express reports, and the incident resulted in the Army banning staged pictures.

Brooks vowed never to fake a photo picture again afterwards.

Before the war, Brooks saw success taking pictures of the Royal Family at their official photographer.

Thousands of shells lined up at a shell dump in Contay, France on 27 September 1917
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Thousands of shells lined up at a shell dump in Contay, France on 27 September 1917Credit: Getty - Contributor
The sky is set alight by a bombardments before an assault on Thiepval at the Battle of Flers Courcelette on 15 September 1915
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The sky is set alight by a bombardments before an assault on Thiepval at the Battle of Flers Courcelette on 15 September 1915Credit: Getty - Contributor
Shells rain down during a artillery strike on Beamont-Hamel
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Shells rain down during a artillery strike on Beamont-Hamel
Troops in the trenches on their way to the front line near Blairville Wood on 16th April 1916
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Troops in the trenches on their way to the front line near Blairville Wood on 16th April 1916

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His most famous image had been of King George V on a tiger hunt in India.

He first picked up a camera when he was hired by a diplomat's widow to develop photos.

Later, he took portraits of high profile clients and worked briefly as a newspaper snapper before joining the royal household.

Pictures taken of Brooks in the trenches show him carrying his signature Goerz Anschutz plate camera.

His distinguished wartime service led him to be decorated by both France and Belgium, and awarded an OBE and British Empire Medal.

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