Scottish World War I Photos

Within the National Library of Scotland it offers online a nice collection of photographic images from the World War I time period (1914 to 1919). They were originally taken by various British photographers out on the Western Front during the war. There are nine categories with numerous images within each.

Some of the more interesting images are in the ‘British Western Front’, ‘Royal Visits’, ‘Other Visitors’, ‘The Allies’, and ‘After the War’. In this digital collection are featured photographs taken in Germany, mostly of Germans – POWs during the war.

When you click on a category, the first in that series will appear in large size. At the top will be a brief description of the photo and as you scroll down a more detailed description is available. You can also zoom in on the image for even more detail. In the 110 images for ‘Royal Visits’ one image is of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (1850 – 1942), third son of Queen Victoria, mounted on a horse as a Field Marshal. There are also several photos of Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales, in full uniform.

In the upper left corner you can click on the arrows to view each of the other images in that category. If you find one you would like to download, such a button to do so is just below.

The ‘Allies’ category has about 326 images of the many nations participating in the war. With British photographers, they would include soldiers from New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland, Australia, Canada, South Africa and East Indian to name a few. The American ‘Dough Boys’ were pictured as well as the American nurses who were also on the front lines. If you had an ancestor involved, you just might find that section very interesting.

So there is plenty to explore in this images which are nearly 100 years old and possibly not seen in decades.

Photo: German Prisoners of War, on the Western Front, during World War I. German prisoners being questioned by British officers and given bread rations.

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