Contemporary WW1 illustration of British soldier storming a German trench in the 1915 Battle of Loos - an action that won a DCM.
Contemporary World War One illustration of a British soldier storming a German trench during the Battle of Loos in France in 1915. Entitled "War Illustrated Employee on the Roll of Heroes", it depicts Private F G Challoner, 6th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (TF), a member of staff of the Amalgamated Press, in action on September 25. Private Challoner was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for conspicuous gallantry after charging an enemy trench in the face of withering shell, machine gun and rifle fire and shooting or bayoneting nine Germans. His example of heroism was said to have so inspired British soldiers following him that they repeatedly charged the remaining German trenches again and again. The Battle of Loos (September 25 - October 14) was one of the major British offensives mounted on the Western Front in 1915 and marked the first time the British used poison gas (chlorine) in the conflict. The British sustained more than 60,000 casualties and the battle is also famous for witnessing the first large-scale use of new army or "Kitchener's Army" units - the initially all volunteer army recruited following the outbreak of war. The image, by artist Stanley L Wood (1866 - 1928), appeared in The War Illustrated periodical in December 1915.
Size: 3586px × 4783px
Photo credit: © Archive Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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