Daily History Picture: British Shell Shock? September 22, 2016
Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical Pictures , trackback
Or just a chance bad photograph which has been ‘reinterpreted’?
James B, 29 Sep 2016: Beach the problem with photographs likes this, the problem with all photographs is that a moment of life is immortalized and we then interpret the moment. I suspect the guy was just caught in a maturing smile. A post of misinterpreted expressions… Now that would be fun.
Nathaniel, 29 Sep 2016: I think the soldier was surprised and trying awkwardly to crack a smile. This photo (German?) seems more like what shell shock would look like (or it could just be extreme fatigue).
Bruce T, 29 Sep 2016: I can’t prove this but I think this is part of series of photos? That’s a fairly distinctive face. If it is, one of the photos shows the same fellow accepting a cigarette from and smiling at the man standing to his side and above him. Let me know if anyone else comes up with anything? This is a puzzler.
Ruth B, 28 Oct 2016 writes in with the original picture. Well done, Ruth! The shell shock starts to be a bit more credible…
