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.