Canaries who live aboard Ambulance Train to cheer wounded with song

Canaries who live aboard Ambulance Train to cheer wounded with song

Two nurses and their canaries posed by their train, France, during World War I. This photograph was taken at an angle down the side of the train. As a result the image is dominated by overpowering dark metal-sheeting. At two intervals along the composition nurses are leaning out of open windows. Their uniforms are clean and sharp, and they are intent on the cages they are holding. The cages are on display and hold canaries which apparently were used to alleviate the boredom of the patients. This photograph would have sent an ideal propaganda message. The implication that proper, well-organised and efficient care was provided for those at the Front would have reassured those at home. The canaries meanwhile provide a light-hearted note to the seriousness of war injuries. [Original reads: 'OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN ON THE BRITISH WESTERN FRONT IN FRANCE. Canaries who live aboard Ambulance Train to cheer wounded with song.'] digital.nls.uk/74548604 Image by National Library of Scotland