I think this is one of my favourite photographs. I found it in Harry Benson's book I have; 'Fifty years in pictures'. This was taken in 1962/England, the school boy in the photo is called David Field. The caption below the photo reads; 'Field worked as a delivery boy to earn money for a class trip to Norway. At the last minute he stayed behind, giving the money to his mother, who was very ill. The plane crashed, killing all his classmates. I went his house the next day. His mother told me she had sent him fishing near their home. Self-serving as this may seem, I'll never forget editor-in-chief Ted Pickering saying this was the best photo on the picture page that Daily Express had ever published.'
Harry Benson take pictures of some very import and very famous people, through some very significant point in the last fifty years. But still, this is my favorite, which is fairly insignificant.
Along with the story behind this photo, it makes it very emotional. But even without the story I think it's an amazing photo, the dappled light is beautiful.
2 comments:
I found this picture in some book, focusing mostly on the accident and i needed to find out more about the boy. Thank you! :)
The boy in this haunting iconic photograph is not David but Dennis Field. He had to give up his place on the school holiday to Norway because his mother, who was a cleaner at Lanfranc School Croydon could not afford the last payment. Two boys tossed a coin to see who would have Dennis's place and my brother Quentin Green 'won' when he called 'heads'. Only he lost. He and 33 school friends (all boys), their two masters and three crew all died when their Viking plane 'Papa Mike' flew off course into Holtaheia mountain near Stavanger in southern Norway. For the 50th Anniversary my book 'The Lanfranc Boys' was published in Britain, translated also into Norwegian. Although the photo is poignant for me I too like it very much as it is so well composed and it shows the terrible loss that also haunted many other boys at Lanfranc School who had also wanted to go but had also given up places when they couldn't afford the cost.
Rosalind Jones. Author of 'The Lanfranc Boys.
Post a Comment