Battle of Passchendaele: Remarkable images transferred into vivid colour

MEDIADRUMWORLD

Passchendaele had few blue skies, but here is how one looked to the soldiers

Pictures show soldiers chatting to the locals, washing clothes and smiling at the entrance to a German trench during the battle, which claimed the lives of over half a million men between July 31 and November 6 1917.

Troops from Britain, New Zealand, Canada and Australia are all shown in the images, which were transformed by professional photo colouriser Tom Marshall.

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  Third Battle of Ypres: They called is Passchendaele

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  Duchess of Cambridge and husband Prince William in Ypres on Royal duty

I decided to colourise these images as a tribute to the men pictured

Tom Marshall

Mr Marshall said: “I decided to colourise these images as a tribute to the men pictured. I believe that colour adds another dimension to historic images, and helps modern eyes to connect with the subjects more than with a black and white photo. I have found that black and white images are too often sadly ignored, especially by younger generations, and by colourising the photos I hope that more people will stop to learn about the subjects and what the men went through 100 years ago.”

MEDIADRUMWORLD

Troops from Britian, New Zealand, Canada and Australia are all shown in the images

Passchendaele is infamous not only for its vast number of casualties, but also for the awful conditions men had to endure, as heavy rains turned the battlefield into a quagmire, trapping troops, horses and equipment.