Gathering fuel, Delville Wood

Delville Wood was the scene of fierce fighting in the summer of 1916 when British forces were successful in capturing the area from the German Army. The fighting cost the lives of many South African soldiers for whom the battle for Delville Wood was their first engagement on the Western front.

Characteristically, Dyson has chosen to focus on the human aspect of the war rather than try and depict a scene of heroism or carnage. Partly comical in its depiction of a soldier struggling under the wait of his gathered wood, Dyson's picture also contains many allusions to the violence and destruction that has taken place. The silhouette of the stump against the foreground figure and his load of wood creates the illusion of a cross signifying the high price the British forces have paid to capture this position. Behind this former wood is presented as a barren wasteland wherein only mutilated tree stumps remain, a grim reminder of the industrial destruction that the war has brought to the environment.