Great War Artifacts: Photographs

My grandfather had a camera in the trenches which he wasn't supposed to have. Family lore has it that it saved his life when it stopped a bullet. Be that as it may he took a lot a photos. Here's a selection, though the first is the studio portrait I've shown before.

I've always been haunted by the youth of these men in these photos. My grandfather is certainly not the old man I remember.

There's an air of bravado in so many of the photos, and the captions make light of the reality.

Some how this last photo cuts through the cocky assurance of the others. It seems to be a double exposure and I wonder if someone picked up the camera and snapped my grandfather unprepared. He seems vulnerable tucked into the tight space in the ground surrounded by gear.