Ammunition convoy, 1916 (c)

Photograph, World War One, Western Front (1914-1918), 1916 (c).

Horses loaded with shells negotiated the devastated landscape of the Western Front. Moving ammunition and supplies up to the front line trenches was a dangerous business and those involved were often targeted by enemy snipers and artillery spotters. In some sections of the line, supply convoys would vary the times and routes of their journeys in order to maximise their chances of getting through unscathed.

From a collection of 282 photographs collected by Captain Richard Tennant Cooper (1885-1957), 16th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment and the Royal Engineers.