A nice photograph showing British troops using the Stokes mortar, while the officer is taking a moment enjoying a long drag on his cigarette.....Also included, a diagram of the Stokes shell.
Joe
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...iddle_East.jpeg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...on_diagram.jpeg
You can click on the pic to really enlarge it.

Mate,

I recall the Yank movie made about 1930 ish with Jimmy Carney, about WWI where he plays a soldier of the 69th New York Regt.

At the end he's seen in action with a Stokes Mortar blowning up all and sundry.

S.B

Hello steve, it was the movie "The Fighthing 69th" with James Cagney. Here's the link.
Thanks an Cheers.
Joe
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032467/

May well be a posed photo in my opinion, chap in centre is using a periscope to look over the sandbags while chap with mortar bomb seems impervious to any bullets flying over the top.

Hello Shredie, you may be right about this. Have you ever seen the kind of cameras they had in those days? The photographer probably used one of those big box camera with a tripod and not very mobile. So my guess is for most of the 1st WW photos are/were posed. Another thing, see in the link(check the cine camera) why there is very little action scenes from that period....
Cheers
Joe

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...6-16-120221.jpg

Possibly a training exercise?

Well centurion you could be right about this. Something similar to the Turkish MG photograph I posted sometime back. Something for home newspapers to go with an article, perhaps.
Cheers
Joe

The linked picture is a movie camera team, not a still camera.

While there were a lot of large-format cameras on tripods about (amazingly, I am passing on the technical term, although I have one myself, focusing cloth over the head and all that), there were a lot of small folding 6 x 9 cm and 9 x 12 cm cameras about, quite small, often about 10" by 4" by 2" when closed up. Usually termed "folding cameras". But the usual givaway is that if you figure out the camera position from the photo you would realize that the photographer would have been recklessly exposed, and in many cases even tottering about at the top of a step-ladder; certainly more exposed to fire than desired if actually on an active battlefield. Some famous action stills from WW I have been proved to actually be stills from immediately post-war war movies.

Bob Lembke

A considerable number of folding cameras were half plate or quarter plate (I have some myself) and to get a decent photo you would still need a tripod. Firstly focusing was often still done by viewing through a ground glass screen at the rear of the camera and looking through the open lens. The shutter was then closed and the ground glass screen replaced with a plate. Any last minute composition would be done with an indirect view finder. The aperture could then be selected and shutter could then be released. This process is not at all easy if the camera is hand held. Furthermore the relatively slow film speeds of the day made it very difficult to get a sharp picture without using a tripod.

That mortar still appears to have its sight fitted. I believe it was normal practice to remove the sight before opening fire.

As always centurion,thanks for your comments they are greatly appreciated.
Joe