RIFLE RANGE BOY: Former dustman's salvaged WW1 archive

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/10719406/Former-dustmans-salvaged-WW1-archive.html?frame=2861435

A former dustman has amassed one of the Britain's best collections of First World War photographs after spending decades rescuing them from rubbish tips and bins.

The caption on the back of this photo reads: Soldiers from the Scottish Regiment, taken in Flanders just as the men were waking up. Picture: MERCURY PRESS

Bob Smethurst spent 36 years working as a refuse collector and began saving the remarkable pictures during the 1970s. A German soldier from the 2nd Battalion - 236 at the Somme

Picture: MERCURY PRESS caption

He believes as soldiers from the conflict grew old and passed away a lot of their remarkable pictures and memorabilia was often thrown out especially in the 1970s and 1980s. Over three decades Mr Smethurst made it his mission to try and save anything he spotted which otherwise could have been lost forever.

Oxfordshire Hussars, Yeomanry Regiment. Taken in France. "This is John's old horse" written on back of photo.Picture: MERCURY PRESS

Mr Smethurst, from Sussex, now has more than 5,000 photographs capturing everything from the horror of the trenches to haunting images of young friends smiling together before battle.

Trenches with fallen British soldiers. Picture probably taken by German soldiers around 1916.

Picture: MERCURY PRESS

As well as being an amazing national record of the 1914-18 conflict, his collection could also be worth thousands as just one picture can sell for as much as £30 to collectors.A German Field Artillery 15 cm field gun Picture: MERCURY PRESS

I found the majority of the photographs on the 'dust' during the 70s and 80s when those who fought in World War I were probably passing away. Probably the boys working today will find them from World War II." A London Scottish soldier in Zillebek, Belgium. Picture: MERCURY PRESS

"In the early days we used to carry the bins on our shoulders. Therefore, when we emptied the bins you used to see the paperwork coming out, and the photographs. You didn't find them all the time because the only time you were aware of some was when they started to be mashed up."

Pictured here is a Royal Engineer in a 'home' made winter coat - probably a goat - taken in the winter of 1914/15 before winter coats were issued to soldiersPicture: MERCURY PRESS

"I've got photographs from the trenches, photographs from Commonwealth Indian regiments and pictures from the Germans."

Indian Sikh soldiers - probably photographed just after they had been captured by the GermansPicture: MERCURY PRESS

Mr Smethurst said his collection also included memorabilia such as medals, letters and even a handkerchief with a bullet hole in it had been found in the rubbish.Picture: MERCURY PRESS

He said: "I have a long photograph like the kind that would have been in a frame hanging on a wall of a complete squadron of the Royal Flying Corps - it was just lying on the landfill."Picture: MERCURY PRESS

He said: "I have a long photograph like the kind that would have been in a frame hanging on a wall of a complete squadron of the Royal Flying Corps - it was just lying on the landfill."

Picture: MERCURY PRESS

Mr Smethurst said the treasure of his collection was a series of photographs of the London Scottish regiment, which fought a battle at Messines in 1914. No other photos of the regiment were previously known to exist. A portrait of the London Scottish soldier who took the pictures of his regiment. Picture: MERCURY PRESS

When he discovered his first letter, Mr Smethurst said: "I looked at it, I thought it was interesting - this was the first world war. "Once I've undone it, I found out the chap was killed in action. This was his last letter. I thought well hang on a minute, you can't throw that sort of stuff away."

Picture: MERCURY PRESS