Francis Gregson facts for kids
Francis Gregson (active 1898) was a British photographer and war correspondent, attached to the Anglo-Egyptian troops under the command of Herbert Kitchener during the reconquest of the Sudan. Gregson is believed to have been the author of an album of 232 photographs called "Khartoum 1898", taken during the Anglo-Egyptian military campaign in Sudan from 1896 – 98. These photographs in the archives of the National Army Museum, London, have been attributed to Gregson and constitute an important body of photographic records of this British military involvement in the Sudan. They have also been of importance in forming the public's views of 19th century British Imperial warfare.
In the 21st century, these photographs, along with other historic records, including objects taken from Sudan to British museums, have been the subject of critical interpretation of the ethics of British military campaigns in the Sudan. With regard to the changing interpretation of the history of military campaigns, some contemporary historians have argued that war photographers have also contributed to the dehumanisation of the victims.
Photographic documents of the British military campaign in Sudan
According to researcher Michelle Gordon from Uppsala University, Sweden, Francis Gregson was a correspondent for the St. James’s Gazette. His album of 232 silver gelatin print photographs, entitled 'Khartoum 1898', documents the Anglo-Egyptian campaign against the Sudanese Mahdist State as a visual narrative. This narrative started in Alexandria, Egypt, and followed the troops southwards to Omdurman, where the decisive battle took place on 2 September 1898.
During the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan, Gregson is believed to have been the photographer who documented the advance of British troops and the victory of Lord Kitchener's troops over the Mahdist forces. These historical photographs in the archives of the National Army Museum, London, include not only numerous pictures of the Anglo-Egyptian troops and their officers, but also photographs of defeated Sudanese, like the commander at the Battle of Atbara, Emir Mahmoud. Some of these pictures show prisoners with traditional weapons and dress, like the characteristic jibba coats, – items that were later exhibited in British museums as trophies of war. Furthermore, there are several photographs of dead bodies, some of them being plundered by Egyptian soldiers, like the picture entitled 'Looting after the Battle' in the original album.
Another photograph shows defeated Sudanese standing in front of the bombed-out tomb of the Mahdi in Omdurman. Looking back on his personal experience as a newspaper reporter on Kitchener's expedition, Winston Churchill stated in his book, The River War: An Historical Account of the Reconquest of the Soudan (1899), that ‘[t]his place had been for more than ten years the most sacred place and holy thing that the people of the Soudan knew."
After his return to London, Gregson produced an album of photographs taken with his Kodak camera. Copies were presented to Queen Victoria as well as to the commanding officers who had overseen his documentary photography in Sudan.
See also
- Anglo-Egyptian invasion of Sudan 1896-99
- War photography
