Somme selfies: three British artillery sergeants and a French boy

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

Three British artillery sergeants and a small French boy pose for the camera during or before the battle of the Somme. At least one of the British sergeants is wearing riding boots. All are wearing the now familiar steel “soup plate” helmets, which were first universally issued in 1916. In 1914 and for most of 1915, British soldiers fought in peaked caps. 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.