The ruins of Contalmaison Chateau with war graves in the foreground, 2 September 1917

Photograph, World War One, Western Front (1914-1918), 1917.

Contalmaison village, and its chateau, were destroyed during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The accompanying caption to this photograph states: 'A year ago the scene of one of the most glorious British victories. The graves of the fallen heroes are always carefully tended, the French inhabitants coming for miles to deposit their floral offerings'.

From a collection of official and aerial photographs of the Western Front.