COPIES of rare air reconnaissance photographs of a First World War trench raid in progress are the centrepiece of a new exhibition.

The pictures, taken from a Royal Flying Corps aircraft in September 1917, show a raid on a German trench at Cherisy in France led by soldiers from 9th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry.

They are the only known images of a trench raid taking place and form part of a new exhibition being staged at Durham County Record Office at County Hall.

Trench raids were designed to take prisoners and gather intelligence but were, above all, staged to kill as many enemy soldiers as possible.

Most were small-scale and occurred under cover of darkness, but the raid at Cherisy was notable for its size.

Military researcher Steve Shannon, who curated the exhibition, said: “The raid is largely forgotten today, submerged beneath the horrors of the Somme and Passchendale but it is unique, not only because of the number of soldiers involved but because the photographs showing it in progress are so rare.

“The raid also had an important outcome as it is believed that Lt Col Roland Bradford, from Witton Park, in County Durham, received a promotion to become the youngest general in the British Army, as a result of his involvement.”

For two weeks before the raid, Col Bradford trained the men of 9DLI on a full scale model of the target trench, until every raider knew what he had to do.

  • The exhibition "All of a sudden, hell broke loose – the trench raid at Chérisy, 15 September 1917" runs until the middle of next year.
  • Admission is free and the exhibition is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm.