'Somme - July 1916 - German counter attack on S. Africans in Delville Wood'

Pen and ink and watercolour by Lieutenant Richard Barrett Talbot Kelly MBE, MC, RI (1896-1971), Royal Field Artillery, 1916.

German infantry advance down a slope towards the outskirts of the devastated wood. The nature of the struggle in this shattered landscape is evident in the casualty figures of the South African Brigade who captured it on 15 July. They then held it for six days during which they were subjected to fearsome German counter-attacks. Of the 3,433 men from the brigade who entered the wood, only 768 emerged unscathed when it was relieved. The inscription states: 'Note - German cow-hide packs, 1916.'

As part of an 18-pounder gun battery crew, Talbot Kelly took part in many of the major offensives of the Western Front. He regularly served as a Forward Observation Officer, tasked with spotting where the artillery shells were landing. The unique vantage point of the battlefields that this job gave him, inspired him to draw his experiences.