Interesting and amusing
original real b/w photo which I assume was taken during a British Army training
exercise, sometime around WW2.
The photo shows three
fully kitted-out and armed soldiers attempting to cross a water-obstacle on an
assault-course. (The rectangular pool with log-bridge suggests this is a man-made
set-up, not a natural feature.)
What adds to what would
have been a pretty dull scene, though, is that the middle man of the trio is in
the act of falling face-first into the water – having lost his footing on the
charge across the narrow log-bridge. Still desperately clutching his rifle, he
is inches away from taking a soaking…no doubt to the amusement of his mates. Fortunately,
the photographer had set his camera up in such a way that the fall is captured without
much motion-blur.
The photo is printed on
Velox photo paper, with pencilled developer’s marks on the reverse, which suggests
that this was an amateur snap taken by a watching colleague, rather than an ‘official’
photograph.
Possibly a ‘Home Guard’
unit – certainly, the fate of the chap in the middle would have been worthy of screen-time
on TV’s ‘Dad’s Army’!
Photo measures approx.
11.5cm by 7.5cm. There is just a single photo on sale here, the close-up scans in
the listing are provided to add clarity.