Astonishing unseen Second World War photographs unearthed by 'stroke of luck'

An antiques dealer with a passion for finding treasures in dusty libraries and dirty barns has unearthed a remarkable archive of never-seen-before photographs of the Second World War.

For his book, Reflections of War, Peter Deleuran has lovingly restored 150 glass negatives, giving a fascinating chronicle of military and civilian life.

Published ahead of the 80th anniversary of the official end of the war on September 2, Admiral James Stavridis, 16th Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, described the book as “an astonishing work of art.” Elsewhere, a 'serious nuclear incident' at Faslane Royal Navy base has been deemed 'Category A' threat.

He said: “The book captures - image by beautifully reconstructed image - the sweep of history in the Second World War.”

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Author Peter, who has been restoring the negatives since acquiring them in 2020, was trying to make a deal over some watches when he stumbled on the amazing cache.

Possessing an “almost childish Indiana Jones-like obsession with the need to uncover every little secret of any object and expose its history to the world,” he says: “I had a stroke of luck. While making a deal with a seller for some vintage watches, I was offered access to a cache of old photos. At first glance, it all looked in a sorry state. But I slowly began to see the importance of what I had acquired.”

Peter had nearly 300 Second World War press release glass negatives and developed photos, most with their original typewritten caption sleeves.

The rights now belonged to TopFoto, an independent British picture library, but they had never seen many of the images before.

Peter was happy to restore them and return them to the archive, but first TopFoto agreed he could publish 150 images - which were being seen in public for the first time - in his book.

“An immense amount of work has gone into this,” he says.

And the results are incredible.

There are quirky scenes - like a tank crew, out on manoeuvres somewhere in England in 1941, pausing to chat to some nuns, who were walking their dog.

One of the first photos to reach London from the Battle of Libya shows pipe-smoking General Ritchie directing the battle in June 1942 with his two Corps Commanders, Lieut. General Willoughby Norrie and Lieut. General ‘Staafer’ Gott.

A candid shot from August 6 1944 shows infantrymen from the 2nd French Armoured division, their tank parked against a boulevard barricade, washing in the street, watched by locals, after winning the Battle of Paris.

Another shows the crew of We Dood It - a US B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, being blessed by Father Billy before their mission.

On 30 January 1944 - one month after the photo was taken - We Dood It was attacked by the Luffwaffe. It burst into flames, but the crew still managed to drop their bombs on the target, before crashing in Minden, Germany. Three of the ten crew members bailed out. The other seven were killed instantly.

Another extraordinary image from November 1943 comes from the historic Tehran Conference - the first meeting between ‘the Big Three,’ Britain, the US and the Soviet Union - to co-ordinate Allied efforts against the remaining forces of the Axis powers.

Seated between Stalin and Churchill, US President Franklin D Roosevelt shakes hands with Section Officer Sarah Oliver, of the British Women’s Auxiliary Air Force - Churchill’s daughter - outside the Russian Embassy.

Another image shows Chief Controller Whately, Director of the British Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) - created in 1938, as the women’s branch of the British Army - inspecting the unit.

More than 250,000 women served in the ATS during the Second World War, working as radar operators, anti- aircraft gun crews and military police, among other jobs.

Aristocrats were also keen to show support for the war effort.

A touching picture shows Lady Louis Mountbatten in December 1944 at the Dumb Friends League Kennels in London’s Victoria, meeting a mongrel called Sandy, who was to become a mascot for the minesweeper ESCONA, following an appeal by the ship’s cook.

And 150 officers and men of another minesweeper, HMS St Tudno, were pictured on March 1, 1945, in London’s Walthamstow, enjoying the company of their ‘pin-up girl,’ Miss Joan Butfield.

From September 1940 to May 1941 Londoners’ lives were blighted by the Blitz - relentless bombing by the Luftwaffe, after the Germans lost the Battle of Britain.

Five bombs hit Buckingham Palace, yet King George VI and Queen Elizabeth stayed there, determined to share the burden with their people.

An image shows the royal couple, accompanied by Sir Edward Evans, on November 14, 1940, chatting to children having dinner, during a tour of air raid shelters and canteens.

Another photo shows medics giving an air raid victim a blood transfusion in an underground ward at London’s St Thomas’ Hospital.

After the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, the Germans renewed their attacks, with flying bombs and rockets, leading to the official opening of deep shelters for civilians - as seen in an image from 11 July 1944, showing people queuing with bedding outside one.

But Londoners - and the city’s institutions - stayed strong.

Despite being damaged nine times during bombing raids, London’s famous Ritz hotel stayed open - just briefly closing its restaurant twice.

The author says: “The Ritz became a hub for royals, famous people, and the social elite – as well as the playground for conmen, communists and spies. A place where clandestine meetings took place at any level of the social hierarchy.

“Churchill and Eisenhower famously met in the Antoinette Suite to discuss operations in 1942, while two years prior the entire royal Albanian family moved in and took up a whole floor for themselves.”

Well-to-do couple, Mr and Mrs Harold Scarisbrick and their family, can be seen welcoming in the New Year in 1942 at The Ritz - leaving them with a bill (just for food and entertainment) of around £15,600, according to Peter.

Rehabilitation for survivors of some of the worst atrocities was another essential part of the war effort.

A poignant image from July 21, 1945, shows Harold O. Le Druillenec, the only British survivor of the Bergen-Belsen death camp, at Horton Emergency Hospital, Surrey, a rehab centre, making a handbag for his wife.

Living in Jersey when the Germans captured the Channel Islands, he was sentenced to five months imprisonment in June 1944 for illegally listening to radio transmissions.

Sent to Germany for forced labour, he was transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where he survived for nine days on a litre of soup and a cup of water, later saying: “All my time here was spent lifting dead bodies into mass graves.”

In contrast, a joyful picture from May 8, 1945, shows Whitehall and Parliament Square packed with people, as an enormous crowd cheered the Prime Minister, who appeared on the balcony of the Ministry of Health.

Yet, just days later, on May 23, 1945, Churchill cut a lonely figure when he was snapped after resigning to the King, having lost the general election to the Labour Party.

The two images sum-up perfectly the changing fortunes of war.

• Reflections of War by Peter Deleuran is published in hardback by History Press, price £30.