Somme selfies: the terror of war

In the run-up to July’s centenary of one of the bloodiest battles in human history, The Independent is publishing a different Tommy’s picture every day

An untidy British soldier stares blankly at the camera before or during the battle of the Somme, which started 100 years ago next week. On each day until the centenary on 1 July, we are publishing a “Selfie from the Somme” – an image chosen from a collection of more than 700 long-lost photographs brought to light by The Independent in recent years. Many of the soldiers in the collection put on brave or grinning faces to reassure their loved ones. Not this soldier. His expression makes no attempt to disguise the terror and discomfort of trench warfare. Parts of his uniform are missing. His cap badge is not clear enough to say what regiment he belonged to.