100 faces of WW1 tribute goes online

Hundreds of portraits of people who sacrificed their lives during World War One (WW1) have been made available by the Imperial War Museum (IWM) on 11/11/11 – Armistice Day.

The collection of photographs named ‘Faces of the First World War’ shows fallen servicemen and has been released online as a tribute ahead of the First World War Centenary in 2014.

The previously unseen photos offer a personal and poignant record of the impact of the First World War and act as a record of those who fought and died for Britain and the Commonwealth.

They have been picked out of thousands of portraits acquired by the museum from bereaved families when it was founded in 1917 to record experiences of the Great War.

       [Faces of the First World War on Flickr]

Included in the collection, is the brave face of Private William Cecil Tickle, of the 9th Battalion, Essex Regiment. He went to war despite being under age in 1914. He was killed on 3 July 1916, aged 17, during the Battle of the Somme.

The IWM will continue to release an additional portrait from this collection to every week day between now and August 2014 - the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War.

Diane Lees, Director General, IWM, said: “Everybody in the world has a connection to the First World War, either through their own family history, links to their local community or because of its long term impact on the world we live in today.

“Through projects like Faces of the First World War and the wider Centenary programme, IWM will help reconnect people with the First World War and keep the history and personal recollections of the war alive.”

Little information about some of the servicemen is known, so the IWM are encouraging people to fill in the blanks of their stories by adding comments, information, links or text to the photos.

You can see the full collection of portraits on Flickr.