Private John Douglas Small

Today considering 'line, shape or space'.

I certainly had line in mind when I shot this headstone on the diagonal so that I could include the whole of it and the snowdrops in the photo. And the headstone has an imposing shape in the composition.

After I had loaded up the photo I noticed the position of the snowdrops in the space next to the 'message' of the headstone which, for me, made that message even more poignant.

I think I would have found it hard to be as gracious as this young man's family.

We were in the church graveyard at Twyford.

p.s. Annie D @annied followed up my post and if you follow her link below you can find out more about this young man.

[Gillian Brown]

Nice composition.

[Annie D]

It intrigued me - so I googled - found this............
http://www.tomahawkfilms.com/blog/index-p=5031.html

[Anne]

Creative way to fufil your brief and get all that you wanted into the shot Hazel, makes for a thought-provoking image in many different ways

[Hazel]

@annied

Annie, thanks for your comment and fav and how very interesting, thank you for finding the ref. And what a compelling story of Private John Douglas Small.

[Hazel]

@365anne

Thank you Anne, just a lucky chance to go out for a quick breath of fresh air and find this in the churchyard - intriguing!

[Susie]

Lovely poignant story, thanks Annie for finding that, makes your image Hazel just perfect. x

[Walks @ 7]

Powerful and full of grace.

[Beryl Lloyd]

A loving composition , intriguing , and thanks Annie @annied for your research into the poignant story .

[Dixie Goode]

What a touching picture.

[mittens (Marilyn)]

This is so interesting, Hazel. Excellent find and capture.

[gloria jones]

A touching image with such a sad story.

[Richard Hickey]

Cool picture.

[wendy frost]

Such a sad ending for Douglas but good to know he has not been forgotten and his sister knew where he was laid to rest. A great find Hazel and a lovely capture with the snowdrops.

[Issi Bannerman]

Wow. How beautiful and how poignant. And how sad. I was speaking with my son last night about the things endured by young men in WW1 and 2 - men a lot younger than he is today. Beautifully captured, Hazel.

[Bep]

A touching image. Thanks Annie @annied for sharing the story.

[Mandy]

Lovely thought provoking image Hazel. To think that he died so that we are free to see the snowdrops. You have honoured him well.

[Peter]

Poignant and thought provoking image Haze, raising questions on young John Douglas Smalls death, very unusual to see the inscription " Passed Away" in war time, sounds more like he succumbed to an sickness:)

[Hazel]

@pcoulson

Yes, observant of you Peter - the link (in the second comment down) reveals he died from meningitis.

[Peter]

@quietpurplehaze Very interesting link Haze, its surprising what you can find on the world wide web, thanks for drawing my attention to it:)

[Tunia McClure]

Much too young.

[Lois]

Beautiful in b&w

[Casablanca]

What a very poignant image. Meningitis - tragic loss so young. Perfect to include those snowdrops.

[Babs]

Really interesting shot. I will fav this and check it out again tomorrow. Got a splitting headache tonight after a hospital appointment in Newcastle today. Lovely that Annie checked it out too. fav

[Joyce]

Very interesting Hazel

[Hazel]

@onewing

Hope you feel better today, Babs, thanks for comment and fav.