Horace Nicholls Photographed the First Women’s Land Army

The photographer shows us Great Britain’s farms during World War I

A Women’s Land Army member leads a horse out from the stables during World War I. By Horace Nicholls from Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain).

Agriculture wore a different face by 1910. Railroads, faster ships, and refrigeration technology connected more distant rural places to urban centers. Food became cheaper. In Great Britain, many women had already turned away from agriculture as a source of employment, in part because of the fierce competition, but also because advancements had opened up new opportunities in the cities. The number of female workers had fallen to about a fifth of its 1871 level because of these factors. During World War I, the situation on the home front allowed women to venture into rural domains, despite the disdain they faced at the time. Horace Nicholls was there to document their routines.

The story behind an eye

Horace Nicholls was a veteran photographer when World War I broke out in 1914. Years ago, he had captured images in South Africa during the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902). He then toured to host lectures that displayed his photos as lantern slides.

Because of his previous experiences, he wanted to photograph the frontline during World War I, but this was not the assignment he received from the Ministry of Information. As the official photographer of Great…