Our Soldiers: How They Are Made - and Mended, First World War, June 1916

Our Soldiers: How They Are Made - and Mended, First World War, June 1916. Staff Officers; Bringing up the Guns; A Cavalry Charge; On the March. Silhouettes by Harry Lawrence Oakley from The Bystander, 21 June 1916, which seemingly reflect the British Armys high level of morale ten days before the battle of the Somme. Oakley perfected the technique of speedily cutting folded paper with scissors, with no prior drawing. During his time as a soldier in the First World War he designed posters for the army as well as providing magazine illustrations. After the war he continued to earn his living from silhouettes and made portraits of many famous people including royalty. He made tens of thousands of silhouettes between the 1920s and 1950s, producing portraits, book and newspaper illustrations, and stationery. ©SSPL/H L Oakley