'The sunken road into Longueval. Myself on FOO duty. Dressed for hot weather, goggles worn against tear gas, Somme, 15th July 1916'

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

Longueval was devastated by shell fire during the Battle of the Somme. Most of the village was captured by the 9th (Scottish) Division on 14 July 1916, but bitter fighting raged in nearby Delville Wood until late August. The inscription states: 'road constantly bombarded, littered with bits and pieces of men! Note the large aerial torpedo bombs of our heavy trench mortars'.

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.