My uncle. Bunker Hill, Korea 1952. Scanned negative 6cm x 9cm. Epson Perfection V500
I’m taking a short break from my photography. Reason is that I’m dedicating my spare time to scanning a box of over 200 negatives, left by my late uncle, who recently passed away. Most of the collection of scratched and un-kept 6cm x 9cm negatives were taken during my uncle’s tour of Korea as a national serviceman in the Royal Norfolk Regiment during 1951/1952. The Korean War was settling back to the 38th Parallel following the entry of China as an ally of North Korea. However, it was far from over. The above photo of my late uncle was taken around about the time of one battle, where the Royal Norfolks tried to bait the Chinese into close hand fights, in the hope of snatching prisoners for interrogation.
The forgotten war had a long lasting effect on him. He spent the rest of his life isolating himself from others as a recluse. He rarely talked about a lot, never mind his experience in Korea. The consensus is that he suffered battle fatigue or PTSD. Therefore these negatives are providing an insight of his life that the family have never really seen. And what a photographer. Click on the above photo to visit the Flickr Album – still very much incomplete – I still have lots of scans to do. He seemed to give up the camera shortly after putting down his gun. Yet, we can now see something of Korea in 1952, through his eyes – at least the less unpleasant sights. Friends, comrades, group portraits, mates, barracks, first aid ships, troop ships, smoke rising from the opposite hill, tired young men in the humid heat, R & R on the beach, bathing in a muddy stream, it goes on.
The Tight Fisted Photographer 