Somme selfies: a bit of tipple behind the front line

In the run-up to July’s centenary of one of the bloodiest battles in human history, The Independent is publishing a different Tommy’s picture every day

A not-so-young British soldier, probably an artilleryman, celebrates surviving for another day during the terrible battle of the Somme. His tipple looks suspiciously stronger than wine – maybe a marc, or local brandy of doubtful origin. On each day until the centenary on 1 July, we are publishing a “Selfie from the Somme” – an image chosen from a collection of more than 700 long-lost photographs brought to light by The Independent in recent years.