A Clan Line cargo ship painted with dazzle camouflage passing through the Suez Canal near Kantara, Egypt, 1916

Photograph, World War One, Middle East (1914-1918), Egypt, 1916.

Clan Line were a Scottish shipping company requisitioned by the British Government to carry vital supplies during World War One. They were known as the 'Scot's Navy' as their officers wore similar rings on their jacket sleeves to Royal Naval officers.

El Qantara, known by the Allies as Kantara was a supply depot on the Suez Canal in Egypt. It marked the start of the desert railway and had a hospital centre and distribution warehouse to support units taking part in the Sinai and Palestine campaigns.

Ships were painted in dazzle camouflage not to conceal, but to break up their silhouette and confuse the enemy about the distance and course of the vessel.

From a collection of photographs taken by Corporal Joseph Egerton, Shropshire Yeomanry in Sinai and Palestine.