7 scandalous shots: why British soldiers wore women's dresses and stockings (8 photos)

A protective helmet, a bandolier and a silk dress - in just such a flaunted by British soldiers of World War II when they were scandalous photographs were taken, officially banned by the authorities Great Britain, but also leaked to the world.





Art against hopelessness

As the soldiers wrote in their diaries and letters, with the Germans it was especially difficult to fight. Sometimes life seemed so gray that it was you need to cheer yourself up, relieve stress, laugh out of spite enemies and remember what you're fighting for. At times like these, people come to fun creativity: some write humorous poems, others draw cartoons, and the British soldiers staged pantomimes.



History without words

This art was born in ancient Greece, where The theater stage was allowed to rise only to men. They dressed up as ladies to portray them. The meaning of pantomime is to tell a whole story without words, only with the help of gestures, facial expressions and sometimes dance. The British soldiers of the city of Gravesend in Kent chose this a kind of art to cheer up yourself and your comrades.



glorious city

Gravesend has a rich history dating back to Stone Age, long before the advent of our era and the advent of Christianity. During World War II, the city's civilian airfield became a combat airfield. base. The soldiers survived many attacks by German military aircraft, and between they often rehearsed new performances. It was during one of these rehearsals were made scandalous pictures.



John Topham

This is an English documentary photographer who has been 50 years of tirelessly filming the "ordinary lifestyle of ordinary people" as he often liked to talk. In total, his archive contains more than 121,000 negatives. But great fame was brought to him by military personnel, who immortalized in pictures that terrible time.



Anxious rehearsal

In 1940, Topham was in Gravesend and found another pantomime rehearsal. He took some interesting shots of soldiers on stage and during the application of makeup, when suddenly the base was deafened by a military alarm: in enemy planes were seen in the sky.



Hats off

Without delay, soldiers in silk dresses rushed to the radios and combat installations. According to the orders of their commanders, they were to change ladies' hats for military helmets, and dresses would not hurt repel an enemy attack. John Topham only had time to click the button camera, taking rare shots.



Strict censorship

When Topham published the photographs in the War Gazette, they were severely censored by the authorities. Pictures were banned law, allegedly they harm the image of a strong and brave British soldier, but these seven frames managed to slip into the world thanks to the first print. Despite the ban, many people find these footage soulful, giving a drop of happiness in wartime.