Crater Gallery

Street fighting in Stalingrad

Photograph: Street fighting in Stalingrad. A picture from Axis sources shows German soldiers, glad of the shelter of a crater in a Stalingrad street. It is the toughest job of the war yet, as the German caption admits. Every house, every heap of rubble, the roofs of factories and the cellars of buildings - They all spit fire at the aggressor. What is described a ?The decisive battle? for the city is now raging. German infantry shelter in a crater during the bitter Stalingrad fighting. Both men are armed with MP40 machine pistols, the standard German submachine during the Second World War. Over one million were made between 1939-1945. Picture issued: 17 October 1942. British Official Photograph: 774/H. Keystone. One of 26 British and Soviet official photographs, 1941-1945. Mounted on card with original associated typescript captions. Covering aspects of the campaign between the German Army and Soviet Forces on the Eastern Front, 1941-1945. Includes the Battle of Stalingrad, World War Two, Eastern Front (1941-1945) 1942-1943. Date: 1942

© The National Army Museum / Mary Evans Picture Library

The Bird of Paradise by Richard Walton Tully

The Bird of Paradise by Richard Walton Tully. First produced in England Lyric Theatre on the 11th September 1919. The setting is Hawaii. The volcano features in Act III. The Times commented: You are shown the very crater of the volcano in full eruption - a remarkable achievement of theatrical engineering, which seemed to shake the walls of the Lyric. Date: 1919

© The Michael Diamond Collection / Mary Evans Picture Library

Japan - Bandai-san volcano

Lantern slide of 'In the Crater of Bandai-San'. Bandai-san is a volcano in the central area of Fukushima Prefecture, southern Tohoku. The 1888 eruption led to the large collapse of the northern part of volcanic body. This eruption is well-known because there were records of the course of eruption and detailed post-eruption surveys, often introduced in some volcanological books outside Japan. The large collapse largely changed the landforms of and around Bandai-san and formed many lakes and swamps. At present, the devastated area became luxuriant forests with a diversity of living things and a famous tourist resort due to the beautiful landscapes and impressive colored lakes and swamps including the Goshikinuma lakes. (http:/glgarcs.net/topics/bandai/bandai_1.html). Part of Box 157 Japan, Boswell Collection, slide no. 56 Date: circa 1890s

© The Boswell Collection, Bexley Heritage Trust / Mary Evans