Historical information

Taken on the 5 November 1917 by James Francis Hurley, this photograph depicts the a war damaged Ypres. The shell damaged wall of the Cloth Hall is featured in the centre of the photograph, with an army vehicle and personal are located on the street beneath the ruined wall.

Significance

First Battle of Ypres, (October 19–November 22, 1914), first of three costly World War I battles centred on the city of Ypres (now Ieper) in western Flanders. Attempted flank attacks by both the Allies and the Germans failed to achieve significant breakthroughs, and both sides settled into the trench warfare that would characterize the remainder of the war on the Western Front.

Physical description

Black and white rectangular reproduced photograph printed on mate photographic paper

Inscriptions & markings

Reverse:
6525/
(A copyright and reproduction notice from the Australian War Museum, printed upside-down in blue ink)