Photos taken 100 years ago of British Tommies preparing for the First World War have been brought to life after they were digitally coloured.
The vivid snaps are in stark contrast to the grainy black and white photographs depicting the Great War that we are used to seeing.
Most of them were taken in July 1914 and show soldiers getting battle-ready at training camps in the Home Counties. The Home Counties are the counties which surround or are near London - Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey and West Sussex (Middlesex was swallowed by London in 1965).
Others depict the men dressed in their smart green uniforms on parade in a town square on the eve of war and then stood on a train station platform as they begin their journey to France.
As well as being filled with colour, some of the photos are tinged with poignancy as many of the men pictured never came back.
They include Sergeant Jack Satterthwaite who is pictured stood alongside his younger brother Walter in front of a green hedge in the summer of 1914. He was shot and killed at Festubert, north west France, two years later.
Another image in the gallery that has been reproduced in colour was shot in 1920 - two years after the war - and depicts a town’s first armistice day commemorations at the newly-built war memorial.
In total, around 6 million men from all around Great Britain - from Edinburgh to Exeter and from Dover to Dublin - were mobilised in the conflict, with a further 2 million from across the British Empire. Only Germany and Russia had larger manpowers during the war.
The conflict started on 28th July 1914, and Britain entered the conflict on 4th August when it declared war on Germany after Germany invaded Belgium.
Bringing WWI to life: Grainy black and white pictures of British soldiers training for battle are transformed into colour
Grainy black and white photographs taken 100 years ago have been brought to life through digital colouring
The pictures show British troopers as they prepare for the First World War at their home training camps
Incredible pictures will be used to mark opening of exhibition to be staged by the Herts at War project next month
By Corey Charlton
30 July 2014
Photos taken 100 years ago of British Tommies preparing for the First World War have been brought to life after they were digitally coloured.
The vivid snaps are in stark contrast to the grainy black and white photographs depicting the Great War that we are used to seeing.
Most of them were taken in July 1914 and show soldiers getting battle-ready at training camps in the Home Counties.
Others depict the men dressed in their smart green uniforms on parade in a town square on the eve of war and then stood on a train station platform as they begin their journey to France.
As well as being filled with colour, some of the photos are tinged with poignancy as many of the men pictured never came back.
Men of the Hertfordshire Regiment at summer camp in late 1914. This is one of a number of old First World War photographs to be digitally coloured
On the top, young Rowland Hill poses for a photograph in 1914 - such pictures were common at the outbreak of the war when patriotism and national fervour swept the country. On the bottom, Jack and Walter Satterthwaite pictured before Jack, on the left, was killed two years later. Walter was seriously wounded and died in 1962
They include Sergeant Jack Satterthwaite who is pictured stood alongside his younger brother Walter in front of a green hedge in the summer of 1914. He was shot and killed at Festubert, north west France, two years later.
Another image in the gallery that has been reproduced in colour was shot in 1920 - two years after the war - and depicts a town’s first armistice day commemorations at the newly-built war memorial.
The distinctive red, white and blue of the Union flag draped on top of the memorial provides a striking contrast to the solemn black and brown overcoats worn by those gathered.
Most of the men photographed served in the Hertfordshire Regiment at the start of the war.
The black and white photos have been given the 21st century colour makeover to mark the opening of an exhibition to be staged by the Herts at War project on August 4.
Dan Hill, who is leading the project, said: 'In applying new technology to historic images previously seen only in black and white we are able to cross the century long divide and bring individuals back to life, if only for that one moment in time.
Wounded servicemen in their 'hospital blues' pose for a photograph in one of the 38 private residences converted into convalescent homes in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire Regiment Territorials rest during summer camp on the eve of the outbreak of war. The images were coloured using Photoshop software
A Belgian refugee at work in Kryn and Lahy factory in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, 1915. The images were reproduced by Doug Banks, who painstakingly coloured in the pixels of the original photos
'We are used to seeing photographs and film in the grainy images of 100 years ago and to see them enhanced in this way is a fantastic window into a war that seems ever more real as a result.
'We are proud to work with projects like colourising history in furthering the story of Herts at War as the centenary of the conflict approaches ever closer.'
The photographs have been reproduced by Doug Banks, of Colouring History.
He used Photoshop software to painstakingly colour in the pixels in the original photos.
He said: 'There is a bit of guess work in terms of getting the colours absolutely right and a bit of artistic licence is required.
'For instance, most of these photos were at the very start of the war so the uniforms would have been brand new and all been the same shade of khaki.
A battalion of the Warwickshire Regiment pictured parading in Hitchin market square in Hertfordshire on the way to war in August, 1914
On the top, a young girl on horseback poses for a photo with a Canadian trooper in 1917. Like powerful empires have throughout history, Britain mobilised men from around her empire to fight. Pictured bottom is the first Armistice Day parade in Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, 1920
'One has to respect the content and whoever is in it and put aside what you think might look good in colour for the sake of it.
'I always start with the flesh and skin tones and try and relate to the people in the picture.
'Then I work on the clothing. People say that they were taken in black and white and they should remain that way but the people who lived through the war didn’t experience it in black and white.
'If there is just one person in the picture it would usually take me two or three hours but others have taken me half a day to do.'
One of the photos that have been reproduced shows a young boy wearing an army uniform in honour of the British soldier, much like how a child would wear a replica football shirt today.
Two other images show a Belgian refugee at work in a munitions factory in Letchworth Garden City in 1915 and wounded servicemen wearing their ‘hospital blues’ at a convalescent home in 1918.
The photos can be viewed at the Herts at War exhibition at Letchworth Garden City from August 4.
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