'Gunners, suspicious of an approaching Taube, don masks as protection against German gas shells', 1915 (c)

Photograph, World War One, Western Front (1914-1918), 1915 (c).

An 18 Pounder Quick Firing (QF) field gun in a camouflaged gun position. The gunners belong to 8th Battery, Royal Field Artillery, which was stationed at Bangalore in India when war broke out as part of the 9th Indian Division. The battery was then attached to the 7th Meerut Division and arrived in France in September 1914.

The 'Taube', refers to a German aircraft spotting for artillery targets. The Taube, meaning 'dove' in German, was a monoplane used for reconnaissance. 'Taube' became a generic term in the trenches for German aircraft.

Stereographs consist of two identical photographs paired in such a way that when seen through a special viewing instrument, a stereoscope, they appear as a three-dimensional images. By 1899 the photographs were mounted on thick card that was given a slight curvature to increase the illusion of depth.

One of 100 stereoscopic photographs associated with World War One, Western Front (1914-1918).

From the collection of the former Buffs Regimental Museum.