La Boiselle has anyone seen this pic before

[arantxa]

This is not a great pic it’s been emailed to me 

had anyone seen this pic before it seems to have explosions in the background but I wondered how long after the explosion it was taken I can’t see any debris etc  I also thought out trenches nearest us were a lot further back 

[Alexander McLean]

Hello, arantxa -

I have seen this photo before, but I don't remember where.  It shows the bombardment of La Boiselle after the explosions of the two huge mines on 1 July 1916.  The trench closest to the viewer is the British line, the huge crater is the Y-Sap mine crater (now filled in), and the shell explosions are in the German positions in La Boiselle.

Some other members probably can tell us where the photo was published and whether it was taken just before or some time after the 1 July assault on La Boiselle, which was repulsed by the Germans.

Regards, Torrey

 

[arantxa]

Thank you i didnt know if it was an unpublished private photo or one that had been seen before

[Knotty]

It appears to be the right had segment of the panorama taken on 3rd July 1916 of the bombardment of Mash Valley and is included in the book by Peter Barton ..The Somme, The Unseen Panoramas p138/139, those are bodies lying in front of the British trench

Extract of same photo approx and comparison to how it looks now 

All copyrights acknowledged 

[arantxa]

Yes it is an exact match thank you ..I didn’t realise those were bodies at the front ….A sad pic 

Thanks again