Aftermath of San Francisco earthquake 1906

You can see many different photos from the 1906 San Fransisco earthquake but I think this one is a little unusual. It takes us right down to ground level, you can sense the complete devastation of the city. The foundations showing, if the quake didn't completely destroy the buildings it was generally the fire that did. As far as the eye can see the same picture continues, rubble. Wonder what the person with the horse cart is doing? Looking for materials to reuse?

The Marx Brothers

Its weird to think many younger people today have no idea about the Marx brothers, like many similar acts (
the three stooges, laurel and hardy) they are comedy gold. Most of the films can be picked up for peanuts online so there is no excuse to have a watch. Animal crackers, duck soup and a day at the races being my favourites.

WW2 Army base Camouflaged.

US Army HQ during World War II, disguised by architect Sir Basil Spence. Not only did they camouflage tanks, vehicles, bunkers to hide them from the Germans they also hid bases. Under this huge dump was an intelligence centre crucial to WW2.

WW2 Propaganda Posters: Enemy propaganda, War bonds

Not really posted many if any WW2 posters from American so here a few. Standard them against us message. Interesting drawing of the enemy!

Most WW2 posters you see in America were asking people to save, help out the best they could. Generally buying War bonds was popular to fund the war effort.

WW2: Loot and Ruins: Leipzig

 

I am like wow, so much happening in this photo. Its taken from the final months of WW2. Pretty typical around that time the allied troops pushing back the Nazi and recovering their treasures and spoils! If this is in Leipzig what are the Statues supposed to be for? We can the place has been bombed, roof gone? Looks like a storage facility judging by the number of boxes in the background. Allied troops would send whatever they could find back home by Army post. 

Brooke Shields: American Royalty

It's not always War photos! occasionally I have posted famous icons from the Movies, Brooke Shields being the latest. I watched an excellent program on Brooke this week "Who Do they think You are?" Her family history is rather amazing it has to be said a direct descendant of the King of France Henry IV and of course his more famous grandson Louis XIV. Worth a watch on the Iplayer if you have time.

Brooke of course has been in lots of movies and TV hows but I think she is more famous for being Brooke! if that makes sense :) and no I wont put a photo up from the blue lagoon.

WW2 Rounding up Nazis

Rounding up Dutch Nazi's, sympathisers and fraternisers April 1945. This is a really interesting photo that tells us so much about the war. Very common scene for people who favoured the Nazis during the war to be rounded up once the country/city/area was occupied by the Allies. Women as above would have their head shaved, paraded on the streets, houses looted/burnt. I know this is in Holland but is the man in the centre wearing clogs?

WW2: Waldenburg Destruction

Allied troops making their way through a somewhat destroyed city of Waldenburg Germany. This was 1945, towards the end of the war. You can see from the smoke and steam raising up its pretty fresh.

War Horse: The Movie & History

I was pleased to see this movie come out. Not too fussed about the actual movie plot itself but more the fact it brought to peoples attention the role horses had in various wars. As recent as WW1 horses played a huge role in the war effort.

Not sure if this is a setup pose with the horse but its from  the American Civil war. I do hope it was not a tactic often used to cover behind the horse.

A great example of the horses ability to pull through artillery through muddy fields in WW1. This is from Ypres where the mud was so deep without wooden planks most of the fields were impassable. Horses were still used by the Cavalry in WW1 where weapons were not as sophisticated or ranged as WW2.

WW1 Propaganda Poster: Funny

I have posted about 20+ WW1 & WW2 posters on this blog, there are plenty more to find and view but they are all pretty much standard like the one above. The funny thing about this is that it states there is 'Room for you' but to me the train looks a little packed. Absolutely no chance others will be getting on that one!

WW2 Easter Egg Bombs

Black American troops getting the bombs ready for Easter with suitable messages. I would guess this is from around 1945. This type of thing where they put "words" on large bombs was rather common. I have seen 3-4 other ones with "Up Yours Hitler".

Potholes on Iwo Jima WW2

February 1945: The booted feet of a dead Japanese soldier, foreground, protrude from beneath a mound of earth on Iwo Jima during the American invasion of the Japanese Volcano Island stronghold in World War II. U.S. Marines can be seen nearby in foxholes. Having watched the "Pacific" mini series this photo looks very familiar. Soldiers dug into craters, holes, side of the hill etc. Dead bodies everywhere.

Deep Snow trenches Stalingrad WW2

You can find lots of photo's of the long battle at Stalingrad but I find its hard to find ones that show the true horror of the cold that killed so many troops. Temperatures on -30c were not uncommon and men had to spend weeks in the open with little rations avoiding tank and bullets raining down on them. 1000's if not 10,000s died due to the cold. How about spending a week in the trench above with leaky boots, worn out uniform and wet gloves?

Battleship USS Arizona sinking WW2

December 7, 1941: The battleship USS Arizona belches smoke as it topples over into the sea during a Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The ship sank with more than 80 percent of its 1,500-man crew. The attack, which left 2,343 Americans dead and 916 missing, broke the backbone of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and forced America out of a policy of isolationism. President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced that it was "a date which will live in infamy" and Congress declared war on Japan the morning after.

WW1 Propaganda Posters: Know your place & Woodys

 I have seen a fair few of similar theme posters in both WW1 & WW2. At least this one  has a nifty catchphrase. How much did your average Joe Bloggs know about anything remotely interesting to the enemy?

The Canadians had alot of posters recruiting people to help out, I found very few however asking for front line soldiers to be recruited. They were generally like the one above, asking for workers to cut wood, send eggs to Europe, save war bonds etc. How many Canadian soldiers participated in the great war?