sergey1965
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Two wounded Indian soldiers of the British Indian Army, photographed in Brighton during World War I, c.1915. Colonial troops, many of whom fought far from home, were treated in places like the Royal Pavilion—repurposed as a military hospital. Their faces reflect the silent endurance of men caught in an imperial war not of their making.
©olor by Sergey V. Rauzin, 2025
#digitalcolorization_by_sergey_rauzin #history #oldphotos #historicalmoment #vintage #retro #photorestore #colorizedhistory #colorisation #restored #colorised #digitalcolorist #smallworks #ww1history #indianarmy #britishindia #brightonhistory #worldwar1
Photographer H. D. Girdwood. Through colorization, I aim to restore not just the image, but the dignity, humanity, and historical presence of those who served in silence.
©olor by Sergey V. Rauzin, 2025
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DebauchedSloth
All members of the British Indian Army were volunteers. They were not forced to do anything.
MrFancyPanzer
Are they wearing French uniforms?
sergey1965
No, they are not wearing French uniforms. The men in the photo are wearing British convalescent uniforms, commonly known as hospital blues. These were issued to wounded soldiers recovering in military hospitals during World War I. The blue woolen jackets and trousers with white shirts and bandages were typical for British medical facilities, not the French Army.
tooomanystevesgotbanned
The one on the right looks like he is wearing an Australian slouch hat, is that correct?
https://www.australiandefence.com.au/news/sme-spotlight-you-can-leave-your-hat-on
Philexspectorate
They were forced to fight in winter in Indian summer gear. Most died of pneumonias and neglect. They were promised pay and pensions for their families; none were paid. They were buried in unmarked mass graves without religious ceremonies. Kin often never knew what became of them; no system was set up to feed, track, or inform/ pay relatives from the start. When recruitment dried up because of this, photos like these were faked with non-wounded soldiers. Sadly, it's true
laserfork
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide
idontknowyoufromadam
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot
ArchaeoEejit
Poor dumb bastards
tooomanystevesgotbanned
Rude.
oldmarley
"And the band played..." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEMcLcGJ79s
BarnegatLight
And thank you for "The Gift of Years": https://youtube.com/watch?v=0PHb05Cl83M
AtariJaguar64Bit
"Slaves." If you are occupied by an invading nation and forced to fight that invading nation's wars, you are a slave. If you are taken from your homeland (India) and forced to work (fight) in another place (France, Africa, [...]) by the country occupying your nation, you're a slave. These were slaves. That term isn't to degrade them, but the people that enslaved them. Many Indians volunteered with no other choice for food or shelter. Britain enslaved India. Make no mistake.
wannasee
Thank you for not sanitizing the language. They were slaves. And the colonizers were pillaging, thieving, hostage takers.
They used and then bankrupted india with their train system before moving on to African countries to do that same - and when they killed off the indigenous Africans with their diseases, guess who they brought in to finish the job? Indians.
And they wonder why so many protests erupted durong their "Jubilee" tour. Ffs
ExitThroughThePanaderia
I've been to Eastport too...
textilelover
Holy crap, I made uniforms for English Civil War reenactors and the only real difference in the shape is the length of the pants. Well, the metal buttons instead of bits of wool stuffed fabric would not be common but would be possible. But 250 years and it's the same woolen boxy jacket with the small upstanding collar. Same construction method in the sleeves. The same white lining. Crazy.
FrolickingFrolicking
“Restore dignity, humanity, historical presence”…through….COLORING? That’s some of the most insulting marketing-lie writing I’ve ever seen.
As if greyscale/black/white doesn’t have that or has a serious problem with that? What?
What this kind of marketing-fluff says is that people need a trivial superficial process (coloring), which fits more comfortably into bias, in order to see or understand anything important?
sergey1965
Colorization doesn’t erase dignity—it helps reconnect people to the past in a more immediate, human way. It’s not a replacement for historical context, but a companion to it. If you care about the depth, contribute something meaningful instead of tearing down efforts to engage others with history. Dismissing it as a “gimmick” says more about your cynicism than the work itself.
FrolickingFrolicking
Meanwhile the text write-up doesn’t have enough respect of effort to explain their background or whether it was conscription or what the story is or how the same pattern connects to other people. The person wrote vague typical cliches about WW1 that don’t at all cover or illuminate the humanity or history of these people.
FrolickingFrolicking
“Those who served in silence.” The OP is the one creating silence by doing no research or effort or write-up about what similar people in similar situations said with their voices at the time.
These are the kinds of insulting write-ups a person writes when they don’t care for the subject but they know they need marketing fluff to help get clicks for their chosen gimmick (coloring grayscale photos). The lack of quality in the written treatment reflects the mindset.
sergey1965
Hey cyberbully-troll,
I’m honestly glad that my work—colorizing historical black-and-white photos and sharing a bit of their background—seems to bother only a very small number of people. By that, I mean you and maybe a handful of others. That’s great news to me. It tells me I’m doing something right.
P.S. More importantly, the vast majority of people appreciate what I do. And that’s what matters.
VIOLAATA
You stitch colors into history like a visual tailor.
sergey1965
Thanks.
Rijtjeshuis
So, a Serb shoots an Austrian and it led to these two Indians getting wounded by some Germans.
Grogu007
"benefit" of globalization
TheJackKetch
That’s why it was a world war. It was fucking horrible, and we’ve forgotten how bad it can be. All today’s sabre rattling needs to be calmed down.
lemmerustlethosejimmies
"and it led to" being four words that always comically oversimplify the shenanigans of early WW1. Ah early 1900's Europe you beautiful Bismarckian clusterfuck
madeejit
Some bloke called Archie Duke shot an ostrich because he was 'ungry.
Lichelf
In France, most likely. On behalf of the British, to protect the sovereignty of Belgium.
TheRedBaron8
Aye, right!
Targe0
India's participation in WW1&2 doesn't get the coverage it really deserves.
They fought on almost every front, but it's rare that they ever get representation or a mention in media or documentaries.
VodkaReindeer
It goes both ways. Most Indians don't know Hitler was a bad guy.
Targe0
That's because if you go by percentage, the majority of Indians have little to no education.
Draw back of the most populated country, still having many underdeveloped regions.
You're going to end up with very disproportional education disparity.
VodkaReindeer
I'm not sure the Chinese have much of a view on Hitler despite having lots of education.
Targe0
That one's more about the state controlled education.
VodkaReindeer
Like western education is
TheJackKetch
Idk, I remember learning about their involvement in school, especially the Gurkhas, who have pretty much hero status on the UK.
iovebeans
My grandfather, serving for the US, trained in Bombay for a mission
wannasee
Truth
thatwoodguy
My dad served with gurkas in the Canadian Merchant Marine acting as guards on oil tankers. That guy was the toughest 5 foot 1 person I'd ever met when he came to my dad's memorial service
Targe0
Rule one of interacting with any Gurkha personnel.
Never fuck with the Gurkhas.
Because they are going to win, whatever happens they are going to come out on top.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishnu_Shrestha
thatwoodguy
Yeah the problem laying in Anchor with Japanese want to be saboteurs coming on board at night and they were allowed firearms for obvious reasons. And my dad was a conscientious objector mennonite. My dad though had to clean off the mess some mornings till left behind. Usually with a fire hose
VaultGirl69
Foreign, conquered, and enslaved people being used in war by Britain, France, and America (so colonialists) was pretty common, even before the World Wars. Like, hey we created a shitty situation for these people, and will promise service will make it less shitty. America still does it, promising citizenship then getting deported when the time comes to aunty up they deport the veterans (Mexico) or not give them any VA centers (Guam).
RexT109
British Indian Army was a volunteer force. Same with South Africa, so not conscipted. Bit of a blanket statement hey.
Targe0
Yes, there were also some Indian independence groups that joined the Axis forces in ww2.
As they hoped that when the Nazis crushed Britain, it would mean that India would gain independence. So there is the chance that Indian troops were fighting each other on some battlefields.
There was a lot going on in their participation in the wars.
VaultGirl69
That's more like it. War and history are a mess, especially when it includes slaves and/or colonized people. And women and children.
Targe0
Yes, it's rarely ever clean cut.