Brian Harris

Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. 9 April 2014 Students and visitors to the University City of Cambridge enjoy the late spring sunshine and the spring flowers on the Backs, which line the banks of the River Cam.

Man and his dog outside Costa Coffee shop keeping warm. Cambridge, England. 18 January 2014

Chateau-Thierry American Memorial, Chateau-Thierry, France. March 2014 A teenager uses the wall of the Memorial to play football in the early evening. The memorial is situated upon Hill 204 and commands a wide view of the valley of the Marne River. It is located about 54 miles (87 km) east of Paris, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) southeast of the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial, and 17 miles (27 km) southwest of the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial. It commemorates the achievements of United States forces that fought in the region during World War I. In 1918, the 2nd and 3rd United States Infantry Divisions took part in heavy fighting around the area during the Second Battle of the Marne, which took place during the wider German Spring Offensive.[3] The 4th Marine Brigade, which made a name for themselves in the Battle of Belleau Wood, fought as part of the 2nd Infantry Division. The bodies of a number of US servicemen who were killed during the fighting are interred in cemeteries nereby.[1] Two stone pylons mark the entrance to the memorial from Highway N-3 which runs from Paris to Château-Thierry.[2] The monument consists of a double colonnade rising above a long terrace,[2] as designed by Paul Philippe Cret.[4] On its west facade are sculptured figures representing the United States and France] The sculptor was the French-American artist Alfred Bottiau.[4] The English inscription reads, "This monument has been erected by the United States of America to commemorate the services of her troops and those of France who fought in this region during the World War. It stands as a lasting symbol of the friendship and cooperation between the French and American Armies." On its east facade is a map showing American military operations that took place in the region and an orientation table pointing out the significant battle sites.

Ypres Salient WWI Battlefield, Belgium. March 2014 German Pillbox in the mud of Flanders Fields , built by the Germans in 1915-1916. Built as part of a chain of defences around the Ypres salient here on Pilkim Ridge to the North East of Ypres. In the background is the Church in Bikschote and the re built Bikschote Windmill which burnt down in 1977 and was rebuilt in the late 2000's. The path and posts mark the original track to the pill box.

Vimy Ridge WW1 Canadian National Memorial and Battlefield, Vimy, France. February 2014 The memorial took monument designer Walter Seymour Allward eleven years to build. The Battle of Vimy Ridge in the First World War 1914-1918 was a military engagement fought primarily as part of the Battle of Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the Canadian Corps, of four divisions, against three divisions of the German Sixth Army. The battle, which took place from 9 to 12 April 1917, was part of the opening phase of the British-led Battle of Arras, a diversionary attack for the French Nivelle Offensive. The objective of the Canadian Corps was to take control of the German-held high ground along an escarpment at the northernmost end of the Arras Offensive. This would ensure that the southern flank could advance without suffering German enfilade fire. Supported by a creeping barrage, the Canadian Corps captured most of the ridge during the first day of the attack. The town of Thélus fell during the second day of the attack, as did the crest of the ridge once the Canadian Corps overcame a salient of considerable German resistance. The final objective, a fortified knoll located outside the town of Givenchy-en-Gohelle, fell to the Canadian Corps on 12 April. The German forces then retreated to the Oppy–Méricourt line. Historians attribute the success of the Canadian Corps in capturing the ridge to a mixture of technical and tactical innovation, meticulous planning, powerful artillery support and extensive training, as well as the failure of the German Sixth Army to properly apply the new German defensive doctrine. The battle was the first occasion when all four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force participated in a battle together and thus became a Canadian nationalistic symbol of achievement and sacrifice. A 100 ha (250 acres) portion of the former battleground serves as a preserved memorial park and site of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. Vimy Ridge is an escarpment 8 km (5.0 mi) northeast of Arras on the western edge of the Douai Plains. The ridge rises gradually on its western side, and drops more quickly on the eastern side. At approximately 7 km (4.3 mi) in length, and culminating at an elevation of 145 m (476 ft) or 60 m (200 ft) above the Douai Plains, the ridge provides a natural unobstructed view for tens of kilometres in all directions.

Morris Dancers perform on August Bank Holiday Monday in Thaxted, Essex, England. 26-8-2013 Thaxted Morris Men in red and white and visiting side The Blackmore Morris in blue and white perform in the Bull Ring outside the Swan pub in the traditional home of Morris Dancing in Thaxted in north west Essex, England.

Anthony Horowitz, Author, visits the Tate Modern, London. Walking across the Millenium Bridge leaving the Tate. COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH BY BRIAN HARRIS © 2008 07808-579804

Srdja Popovic the non violent political activist in his office, on the streets and at his home in Belgrade Serbia. Srdja Popovic: A native of Belgrade, Popovic was raised in a political environment with both parents working in the media. His father was a prominent television reporter and his mother a popular news anchor on state television. A founding member of Otpor, Popovic’s main responsibility was human resources and training Otpor activists in nonviolent action. In a sarcastic reference to Yugoslavia’s communist past, Popovic was sometimes called Otpor’s ideological commissar, an appropriate label as he studied and translated the literature of nonviolent strategy, including books by the American scholar Gene Sharp. Popovic worked as a behind the scenes strategist, drafting speeches and writing training manuals. He was elected to the Parliament of the Serb Republic in late 2000 where he also served as environmental affairs advisor to the Serbian Prime Minister, Zoran Djindjic until Djindjic’s assassination in March 2003. He left the Parliament in late 2003 and co-founded the Center for Applied Non-Violent Actions and Strategies (CANVAS), a group that supports nonviolent democratic movements through the transfer of knowledge on strategies and tactics of nonviolent struggle.

Somme WW1 Battlefield, July 1st-November 1916, France. February 2014 Looking east, a line of trees follows the route of the advancing Britsh troops across the Somme Battlefield between Thiepval and Pozieres.

Somme WW1 Battlefield, July 1st-November 1916, France. Site of Lochnagar Crater at La Boiselle. February 2014 The Lochnagar Crater ( named after a nearby WW1 trench which was named by an officer after a mountain in Deeside near Balmoral in Scotland where many of the 7th Gordons, based in La Boiselle, were estate workers ) at La Boiselle, the largest crater on the Western Front, was created on the first day of the Somme offensive on 1st July 1916 at 7.28 in the moring by exploding a hugh mine of 60,000 Lbs of guncotton under the the German front line. The Crater was slowly being eroded until Richard Dunning purchased the crater in 1978 after reading about it in 'The Old Front Line' by John Masefield, so that it might be saved as a permanent memorial. Remains of both British and German Soldiers are still being found in the surrounding landscape and are buried in nearby cemeteries but marked at the Crater by crosses and Poppy Wreaths.

John Carey, literary critic, and emeritus Merton Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford. February 2014 Photographed for the Times Higher Education Supplement - THES - at Merton College. John Carey (born 5 April 1934) is a British literary critic, and emeritus Merton Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford. He was born in Barnes, London, and educated at Richmond and East Sheen Boys’ Grammar School, winning an Open Scholarship to St John's College, Oxford. He served in the East Surrey Regiment, 1952-4, and was commissioned. After posts in a number of Oxford colleges, he became Merton Professor in 1975, retiring in 2001. He is known, amongst other things, for his anti-elitist tone and iconoclastic views on high culture, as expressed for example in his book What Good Are the Arts? (2005). He has twice chaired the Booker Prize committee, in 1982 and 2004, and chaired the judging panel for the first Man Booker International Prize in 2005. He is chief book reviewer for the London Sunday Times and appears in radio and TV programmes such as Saturday Review and Newsnight Review.

Professor 'Chip' Coakley with his printing presses at his home in Ely, Cambridgshire. 11 December 2013 The press in the foreground and which Chip is using is a treadle platen press Arab crown folio, British made, probably ca. 1900

Loos British Cemetery, Loos, Pas de Calais, France.Re-Interrement of 20 British Soldiers. March 2014 Seen Here: Almost 100 years after they were killed in action in the battle of Loos in Northern France during WW1, twenty British Soldiers were re-interred in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Loos British Cemetery after their remians were found in 2010 during construction of new buildings at Vendin-le-Vieil, north of Arras. Private William McAleer from the 7th Battalion the Royal Scottish Fusiliers was found with his identity disc, but it was not possible to identify the other nineteen soldiers who were buried as soldiers 'Known unto God'. Private McAleer was carried into the cemetery in a coffin covered with the Union Jack flag. The 19 unidentified soldiers were placed in 4 coffins and buried prior to the burial of William McAleer.

London in the Rain, London, England. 4-1-2014 Thurloe Place and Thurloe Gardens from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London England.

France Pennsylvania State Memorial Varennes-en-Argonne, WW1 Meuse-Argonne Battlefield site, France. March 2014 Children play tag on the Pennsylvania State Memorial. Memorial to the men of the US 28th and 80th Divisions who died during the battles in the Argonne in September 1918. The Argonne Forest offensive, part of the final 100 days of WW1 and a major attack on the wetern side of Verdun, was the largest battle in American history up to this point and involved 1.2 million American soldiers. Caption information below from Wikipedia: The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, also known as the Maas-Argonne Offensive and the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire Western Front. It was fought from September 26, 1918, until the Armistice on November 11, a total of 47 days. The battle was the largest in United States military history, involving 1.2 million American soldiers, and was one of a series of Allied attacks known as the Hundred Days Offensive, which brought the war to an end. The Meuse-Argonne was the principal engagement of the American Expeditionary Forces during the First World War. The logistical prelude to the Meuse attack was planned by then-Colonel George Marshall who managed to move US units to the front after the St. Mihiel salient fighting. The big September/October Allied breakthroughs (north, centre and south) across the length of the Hindenburg Line – including the Battle of the Argonne Forest – are now lumped together as part of what is generally remembered as the Grand Offensive (also known as the Hundred Days Offensive) by the Allies on the Western front. The Meuse-Argonne offensive also involved troops from France, while the rest of the Allies, including France, Britain and its dominion and imperial armies (mainly Canada, Australia and New Zealand), and Belgium contributed to major battles in other sectors across the whole front. The French and British armies' ability to fight unbroken over the whole four years of the war in what amounted to a bloody stalemate is credited by some historians with breaking the spirit of the German army on the Western Front. The Grand Offensive, including British, French and Belgian advances in the north along with the French-American advances around the Argonne forest, is in turn credited for leading directly to the Armistice on November 11. On September 26, the Americans began their strike towards Sedan in the south; British and Belgian divisions drove towards Ghent (Belgium) on the 27th, and then British and French armies attacked across northern France on the 28th. The scale of the overall offensive, bolstered by the fresh and eager but largely untried and inexperienced U.S. troops, signaled renewed vigor among the Allies and sharply dimmed German hopes for victory. The Meuse-Argonne offensive, shared by the U.S. forces with the French Fourth Army on the left (as shown on the accompanying map and armistice), was the biggest operation and victory of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in World War I. The bulk of the AEF had not gone into action until 1918. The Meuse-Argonne battle was the largest frontline commitment of troops by the U.S. Army in World War I, and also its deadliest. Command was coordinated, with some U.S. troops (e.g. the Buffalo Soldiers of the 92nd Division and the 93rd Division) attached and serving under French command (e.g. XVII Corps during the second phase). 157th I.D.Red Hand flag [3] drawn by General Mariano Goybet. The main U.S. effort of the Meuse-Argonne offensive took place in the Verdun Sector, immediately north and northwest of the town of Verdun, between 26 September and 11 November 1918. However, far to the north, U.S. troops of the 27th and 30th divisions of the II Corps AEF fought under British command in a spearhead attack on the Hindenburg Line with 12 British and Australian divisions, and directly alongside the exhausted veteran divisions of the Australian Corps of the First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF).[4] With artillery and British tanks, the combined three-nation force, despite some early setbacks, attacked and captured their objectives (including Montbrehain village) along a six-kilometre section of the Line between Bellicourt and Vendhuille, which was centred around an underground section of the St Quentin Canal and came to be known as the Battle of St. Quentin Canal. Although the capture of the heights above the Beaurevoir Line by October 10, marking a complete breach in the Hindenburg Line, was arguably of greater immediate significance,[5] the important U.S. contribution to the victory at the St. Quentin Canal is less well remembered in the United States than Meuse-Argonne.

Battle of Belleau Wood WW1,north of Chateau-Thierry only 60 miles from Paris, France. March 2014 Captured German guns in the cratered Belleau Wood, now named 'Bois de la Brigade de Marine' after the US 4th Marine Brigade. Now a permanent memorial site. The Battle of Belleau Wood (1–26 June 1918) occurred during the German 1918 Spring Offensive in World War I, near the Marne River in France. The battle was fought between the U.S. Second (under the command of Major General Omar Bundy) and Third Divisions and an assortment of German units including elements from the 237th, 10th, 197th, 87th, and 28th Divisions.[2] The battle has become a deep part of the lore of the United States Marine Corps. In March 1918, with nearly 50 additional divisions freed by the Russian surrender on the Eastern Front, the German Army launched a series of attacks on the Western Front, hoping to defeat the Allies before U.S. forces could be fully deployed. A third offensive launched in May against the French between Soissons and Reims, known as the Third Battle of the Aisne, saw the Germans reach the north bank of the Marne river at Château-Thierry, 95 kilometres (59 mi) from Paris, on 27 May. On 31 May, the 3rd Division held the German advance at Château-Thierry and the German advance turned right towards Vaux and Belleau Wood.[3] On 1 June, Château-Thierry and Vaux fell, and German troops moved into Belleau Wood. The U.S. 2nd Division—which included a brigade of U.S. Marines—was brought up along the Paris-Metz highway. The 9th Infantry Regiment was placed between the highway and the Marne, while the 6th Marine Regiment was deployed to their left. The 5th Marines and 23rd Infantry regiments were placed in reserve.[4] Battle On the evening of 1 June, German forces punched a hole in the French lines to the left of the Marines' position. In response, the U.S. reserve—consisting of the 23rd Infantry regiment, the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, and an element of the 6th Machine Gun Battalion—conducted a forced march over 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to plug the gap in the line, which they achieved by dawn. By the night of 2 June, the U.S. forces held a 20 kilometres (12 mi) front line north of the Paris-Metz Highway running through grain fields and scattered woods, from Triangle Farm west to Lucy and then north to Hill 142. The German line opposite ran from Vaux to Bouresches to Belleau.[5] Map showing location of the battle of Belleau Wood (U.S. Military Academy) German commanders ordered an advance on Marigny and Lucy through Belleau Wood as part of a major offensive, in which other German troops would cross the Marne River. The commander of the Marine Brigade, Army Gen. James Harbord, countermanding a French order to dig trenches further to the rear, ordered the Marines to "hold where they stand". With bayonets, the Marines dug shallow fighting positions from which they could fight from the prone position. In the afternoon of 3 June, German infantry attacked the Marine positions through the grain fields with bayonets fixed. The Marines waited until the Germans were within 100 yd (91 m) before opening deadly rifle fire which mowed down waves of German infantry and forced the survivors to retreat into the wood.[6]

Battle of Belleau Wood ( bois de Brigade de Marine ) WW1, Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial,Belleau France. March 2014 Seen here: A new water sprinkling system being test in the cemetery. The Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial is a 42-acre (17 ha) World War I cemetery in Belleau, Northern France. It is at the foot of the hill where the Battle of Belleau Wood was fought, with many American fatalities. The cemetery also contains burials from the Battle of Château-Thierry, later that summer. There are 2,288 burials in the cemetery, 251 of which contain unknown remains. The names of 1,060 soldiers missing in action are inscribed on the Chapel's walls. The Battle of Belleau Wood (1–26 June 1918) occurred during the German 1918 Spring Offensive in World War I, near the Marne River in France. The battle was fought between the U.S. Second (under the command of Major General Omar Bundy) and Third Divisions and an assortment of German units including elements from the 237th, 10th, 197th, 87th, and 28th Divisions.[2] The battle has become a deep part of the lore of the United States Marine Corps. In March 1918, with nearly 50 additional divisions freed by the Russian surrender on the Eastern Front, the German Army launched a series of attacks on the Western Front, hoping to defeat the Allies before U.S. forces could be fully deployed. A third offensive launched in May against the French between Soissons and Reims, known as the Third Battle of the Aisne, saw the Germans reach the north bank of the Marne river at Château-Thierry, 95 kilometres (59 mi) from Paris, on 27 May. On 31 May, the 3rd Division held the German advance at Château-Thierry and the German advance turned right towards Vaux and Belleau Wood.[3] On 1 June, Château-Thierry and Vaux fell, and German troops moved into Belleau Wood. The U.S. 2nd Division—which included a brigade of U.S. Marines—was brought up along the Paris-Metz highway. The 9th Infantry Regiment was placed between the highway and the Marne, while the 6th Marine Regiment was deployed to their left. The 5th Marines and 23rd Infantry regiments were placed in reserve.[4] Battle On the evening of 1 June, German forces punched a hole in the French lines to the left of the Marines' position. In response, the U.S. reserve—consisting of the 23rd Infantry regiment, the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, and an element of the 6th Machine Gun Battalion—conducted a forced march over 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to plug the gap in the line, which they achieved by dawn. By the night of 2 June, the U.S. forces held a 20 kilometres (12 mi) front line north of the Paris-Metz Highway running through grain fields and scattered woods, from Triangle Farm west to Lucy and then north to Hill 142. The German line opposite ran from Vaux to Bouresches to Belleau.[5] Map showing location of the battle of Belleau Wood (U.S. Military Academy) German commanders ordered an advance on Marigny and Lucy through Belleau Wood as part of a major offensive, in which other German troops would cross the Marne River. The commander of the Marine Brigade, Army Gen. James Harbord, countermanding a French order to dig trenches further to the rear, ordered the Marines to "hold where they stand". With bayonets, the Marines dug shallow fighting positions from which they could fight from the prone position. In the afternoon of 3 June, German infantry attacked the Marine positions through the grain fields with bayonets fixed. The Marines waited until the Germans were within 100 yd (91 m) before opening deadly rifle fire which mowed down waves of German infantry and forced the survivors to retreat into the wood.[6]