Hubert Berry Ottaway, born in 1879, joined the Royal Engineers in 1900. When sent to war, he took his box Brownie camera to Flanders - returning with film which would be discovered by his grandson 95 years later. In the second half of 1918 and early 1919, he photographed destroyed homes, churches and public buildings.
Berry Ottaway's subjects were both military and civilian, and document ordinary life in the aftermath of battle in Belgium and France. The photographic negatives were discovered by his grandson Peter Berry Ottaway, in a "small oblong rusty tin box" in his house in Hereford.
About 150,000 men and boys as young as 14 were recruited from the provinces in China in 1915 to form the Chinese Labour Corps (CLC). It was intended to fill manpower shortages caused by front line casualties. Duties carried out by CLC companies included digging for chalk and working at cargo ports, as well as digging miles of trenches under enemy gunfire.
Many towns and villages in and around the Western Front battlefields were completely destroyed, with some never being rebuilt. In Ypres and its neighbouring villages about 20,000 people were made homeless.
After battle, a damaged German howitzer is photographed in front of the entrance to a bunker, with a German helmet abandoned near the gun's wheel.
Souchez was a small village near Arras, not far from the Belgium/France border. It was initially held by the Germans, taken by the French in 1915, and handed to Commonwealth forces in 1916. During the fighting, Souchez was completely demolished, leaving this mound of rubble and a sign made by soldiers.
Observation posts were made from wood and canvas and decorated to look like shell-damaged trees which were prevalent around the front line and No Man's Land. Soldiers would climb a ladder and perch inside, themselves camouflaged by sacking hoods, and monitor the enemy.
Between 1916 and 1919, more than 2,500 miles of rail track were laid, almost three times the distance from Lands Ends to John O' Groats in the UK. The engine pictured is a War Department Baldwin 4-6-0 Locomotive, serial number 862. The model was commonly used in Flanders, with those serving the front line having a life expectancy of about six months. The firebox glow and sparks made the the engine an easy target for German artillery.
Although some razed towns and villages were rebuilt, many were not. Today, sites have signs saying the village "died for France".
One page of Berry Ottaway's diary reads: 'Wild flowers amongst the corn both numerous and beautiful. Well worth a visit from Blighty in peacetime." The facing page reads: 'Lt Savage killed, Cpl Jarvis wounded - shell fire'.
Although Hubert Berry Ottaway, pictured here with his son Cecil, survived the war, owing to injury he lost most of his sight. He became completely blind by 1920, and never saw the photographs he took. The negatives were found in his Hereford home by Cecil's son, Peter Berry Ottaway. Both Cecil and Peter also served in the military.
