UNKNOWN SOLDIERS: Some of the pictures of mystery DLI soldiers taken during the Battle of the Somme. Photograph courtesy of John Lichfield, Alfred Dupire, Bernard Gardin, Dominique Zanardi and Joel Scribe
HISTORIANS are looking for help tracing the identity of First World War soldiers captured on photographs as they waited to go over the top 100 years ago.
As the Battle of the Somme raged in 1916, men from the Durham Light Infantry queued to have their pictures taken to be turned into postcards home from the battlefield.
UNKNOWN SOLDIERS: Some of the pictures of mystery DLI soldiers taken during the Battle of the Somme. Photograph courtesy of John Lichfield, Alfred Dupire, Bernard Gardin, Dominique Zanardi and Joel Scribe
The poignant images were taken by a French photographer in a village 10 miles behind the frontline before the soldiers went into action in a battle which claimed more than one million casualties. In many cases, it seems likely it was the last photograph of the soldiers ever taken.
More than 600 of the glass plate images have been discovered, but the identity of many of the soldiers is unknown including 28 wearing DLI uniforms.
Experts believe they served with either the 6th, 8th or 9th Battalions of the DLI and it is hoped that local people may be able to help trace their identities by checking the pictures against family photos.
