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The Little Country that started a Big War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitenlik

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The only flag.....

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"Wo'manning" the farm

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The only heroes are dead ones!

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Thinking of home

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Serbia

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In the trenches

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Sorry, that's NOT your father: Police 'super-recogniser' who has nailed hundreds of criminals from CCTV sheds new light on nameless hero in WWI propaganda film

Soldier caught on camera in the Somme in 1916 has never been identified

Last week it was claimed that his name was Pte Frederick Darkes

But PC Dale Nufer says it is not possible that the two men are the same

The constable - who is an expert in identifying people using photographs - says it is more likely to be Pte George Edwin Raine, a former miner

A police expert who is trained in identifying suspected criminals from CCTV believes he may have found the soldier behind one of the most famous photographs of the First World War.

Last week, Raymond Darkes claimed that his father Frederick was the man captured on camera carrying a wounded comrade through the trenches during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

However, Scotland Yard 'super-recogniser' PC Dale Nufer has ruled Pte Darkes out of the running, saying he cannot be the person from the propaganda film.

Instead, he pointed to Pte George Edwin Raine as a possible candidate, as there is a 'link and a resemblance' between photographs of him and the famous image from the Somme.

The picture was taken from The Battle of the Somme, a film which helped educate the British public to the horrors of the trenches at a time when many had a much more positive image of the war.

It shows a soldier looking up at the camera with a haunted look, carrying a wounded man who is said to have died half an hour after the footage was captured.

However, the film's producers did not keep a record of who appeared in it, leading to decades of speculation about the soldier's identity.

Last week Mr Darkes, 83, said he had no doubt that the man must have been his father, who survived the trenches and lived until 1960.

But Mr Nufer, one of the Metropolitan Police's most skilled identification experts, told The Times it was almost impossible that the two men were the same person.

'His nose is a lot longer and sharper and the eyes seem different,' he said. 'The soldier has a full ear lobe and [Darkes] doesn't - he has a squarer chin and slightly higher forehead.'

Douglas Raine, 83, from West Sussex, insists that the man was in fact his father George, who served with the Durham Light Infantry.

The former soldier apparently remembered being caught on camera while carrying his comrade towards the nearest medical station.

When Mr Nufer saw a photograph of Pte Raine, he said: 'There is more of a link and a resemblance, if you look at the straight brow, the stronger and broader nose and the solid-looking, oval shape of the face.

'And he has the right kind of ear lobe. I would say there is a link with this one.'

Pte Raine was a miner from County Durham, before moving to London to work on building the Underground.

During the war he used his mining experience to help dig military tunnels, and he died in 1960 at the age of 76.

The Imperial War Museum, which owns the propaganda film, says the question of identification is 'officially open' and has declined to comment on the competing claims.

Mr Nufer has identified more than 200 criminals from examining CCTV footage of crime scenes.

He is part of a team of Met 'super-recognisers' who have been picked out as exceptionally talented at spotting people and matching up identifications.

The specialist officers are often used to provide the initial breakthrough in a case, which will then be investigated using conventional means to corroborate the identification of the suspect.

PROPAGANDA FILM WHICH OPENED THE PUBLIC'S EYES TO WWI SUFFERING

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Police 'super-recogniser' sheds new light on hero in WWI propaganda

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Soldier caught on camera in the Somme in 1916 has never been identified Last week it was claimed that his name was Pte Frederick Darkes But PC Dale Nufer says it is not possible that the two men are the same The constable - who is an expert in identifying people using photographs - says it is more likely to be Pte George Edwin Raine, a former miner A police expert who is trained in identifying suspected criminals from CCTV believes he may have found the soldier behind one of the most famous photographs of the First World War.

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Albert Ball

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Edith Cavell

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by Kim and Megan from Webb City

Kim from Webb City writes:

My definition of a hero is someone who helps others before themselves, possibly saves lives, and is looked up to and admired for their achievements. Edith Cavell is a hero because during World War I she did save lives and helped others before herself. Now she is admired for what she did for those soldiers whom she saved and helped.

When she was in Belgium, she was shot while helping allied soldiers to escape from German-occupied Belgium. She saved the lives of the many soldiers and helped them escape from Belgium. For doing this she was tried by the Germans, found guilty and was shot.

She is looked up to and admired now for her courageous acts during the war. There is a memorial in Jasper National Park in Canada. It is called Mount Edith Cavell. She is remembered now because "Edith, in doing what she considered her duty, was prepared to surrender her life and liberty to relieve suffering and help others achieve freedom" (Nurse).

Edith Cavell was, and still is, a hero to many people. She did save lives and she did sacrifice her life for others. She helped others before herself and she is now looked up to and admired for all that she has done for all of those soldiers in Belgium. She is my hero because I hope to someday be a nurse and be able to save lives too.

Megan from Webb City:

A hero is a person who does something great or saves someone from harm, is courageous and thinks of others. Edith Cavell was a hero because she helped others and didn't worry about what was going to happen to her. She took in people she didn't even know to protect their lives.

She was taken into police custody and was charged with helping Belgians escape to England. It was said that she hid them in her house and provided them with money and an address. Edith Cavell was an English nurse. She helped soldiers into England. The reason she gave was that "if she had not done so they would have been shot by the Germans." Therefore, she thought she only did her duty to her country in saving their lives. But on August 8 she was taken to police headquarters and she was questioned for eight hours.

She died in October of 1915. Edith Cavell is a hero because she unselfishly took those soldiers into her home without thinking of herself.
The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

Extra Info

EXTRA READING
Click here to find out more about the book The Edith Cavell Nurse from Massachusetts - The War Letters of Alice Fitzgerald, an American Nurse Serving in the British Expeditionary Force, ... ... Trial, And Death of Nurse Edith Cavell

"Cavell, Edith Louisa." Webster's New Biographical Dictionary. Springfield, Mass. Merriam-Webster Inc., 1988:185

Eldon, Juliette. Edith Cavell, Heroic Nurse. New York: Julian Messner, 1965

Isaacs, Dr. Alan & Elizabeth Martin. "Cavell, Edith." The Grolier Library of Women's Biographies. Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier Educational Sherman Turnpike, 1998:153

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My definition of a hero is someone who helps others before themselves, possibly saves lives, and is looked up to and admired for their achievements. Edith Cavell is a hero because during World War I she did save lives and helped others before herself.

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Stretcher-bearers

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Manfred Von Richthofen

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Find and save recipes, parenting hacks, style inspiration and other ideas to try.

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Staying true to yourself.

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Doing what is right, even if no one else does.

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Doing what you have to do even if it scares you.

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Standing for what you believe in.

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The hero(s)

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What makes a hero?