L a - b e a u t é - s a u v e r a - l e - m o n d e ~ D o s t o ï e v s k i

L a - b e a u t é - s a u v e r a - l e - m o n d e  ~  D o s t o ï e v s k i



Friday, June 15, 2018

Edgar Henry Garland - "The Elusive Garland" in and out of uniform



Edgar Henry Garland (1895, Wellington, New Zealand - 4 May 1973), New Zealand soldier in World War I. He trained at the New Zealand Flying School at Kohimarama, Auckland in 1916. He later made twenty-four flights over the German lines before being shot down. He made a forced landing in Ostend on 22 August 1917 and was interned at the infamous Holzminden prisoner-of-war camp, a camp reserved for British and British Empire officers. From Holzminden, he participated in the largest POW escape of the war - the first "Great Escape" - in July of 1918; twenty-nine officers escaped, but only ten made it out of Germany and, eventually, to Britain. Flight-Lieutenant Garland was recaptured but went on to make a total of eight escape attempts; it appears he was regarded by the German War Office as one of the most cunning - and slippery - of the British officers. And at the end of the war his exploits were much written about, earning him the nickname "The Elusive Garland".

All photographs by S. P. Andrew Ltd. of Wellington, 1916. All of these photographs were taken before he left for duty in Europe.

So the question is: what was the reason for the two nude poses? All the images were taken by the same photographer, right around the same time. But for what purpose is he naked...?

Lieutenant Garland is at right; the other men are unidentified.



10 comments:

  1. Fascinating story and wonderful photos!

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  2. They true "why" may remain unanswered - but I say: why look a gift horse in the mouth?

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  3. Pour quoi? Pour quits pas?

    He has a beautiful physique for a man of any era.

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    1. I'm curious to know if he has any male ancestors living in New Zealand?

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  4. The answer to the question "But for what purpose is he naked...?" He is Beautiful, soulful, enigmatic and fey. Perfect.

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  5. The reason for the nude photos ? He was proud of his body.
    And rightly so. He had a beautiful, fit body.

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  6. The man is truly the best example of natural beauty... There is something about this man, that one can't stop looking at him I'm truly in love with him 😍 💕

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  7. He’s one of those rarities in life. He has the perfect physic. It would be interesting to know if, like most muscle Mary’s of today, if he was full of himself or if he was just an ordinary Joe hiding that body under his clothing!

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    1. Yes, it would be so interesting to know how the "body beautifuls" back in the day - back in the day when they wouldn't go around displaying themselves all the time, as they do now - viewed their own physical beauty.

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