Carla-Jean Stokes
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carlajeanstokes.bsky.social
Carla-Jean Stokes
@carlajeanstokes.bsky.social
MAs in history and photographic preservation + collections management | Historian of First World War photography 🇬🇧 🇨🇦 | Museum Jill of all trades

https://www.wlupress.wlu.ca/Books/T/The-Taking-of-Vimy-Ridge
Pinned
Copies of my book 'The Taking of Vimy Ridge: First World War Photographs of William Ivor Castle' are making their way out into the world, just ahead of the official release date of Oct 7!

Be sure to head to your fav indy bookshop and order a copy, or you can request it at your local library.
Reposted by Carla-Jean Stokes
On the morning of 11 November 1918, Canadian official photographer William Rider-Rider was in Mons photographing the scenes he witnessed as the armistice was announced.

A Canadian Battalion marching through the Grand Place, Mons, 11 November 1918, Archives of Ontario Collection, I0004854.
November 11, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Reposted by Carla-Jean Stokes
Theo Dombrowski reviews The Taking of Vimy Ridge in The British Columbia Review: "an evocative insight into a momentous point in history—and the role photography played in it." @carlajeanstokes.bsky.social
thebcreview.ca/2025/11/11/2...
Theo Dombrowski reviews The Taking of Vimy Ridge: First World War
Theo Dombrowski reviews The Taking of Vimy Ridge: First World War Photographs of William Ivor Castle, by Carla-Jean Stokes (Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2025) $64.99 / 9781771126984
thebcreview.ca
November 11, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Reposted by Carla-Jean Stokes
Carla-Jean Stokes' book about William Ivor Castle's work tells the stories behind the famous photographer's First World War photos, including the ones he manipulated.

www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/1...
November 11, 2025 at 1:11 PM
On the morning of 11 November 1918, Canadian official photographer William Rider-Rider was in Mons photographing the scenes he witnessed as the armistice was announced.

A Canadian Battalion marching through the Grand Place, Mons, 11 November 1918, Archives of Ontario Collection, I0004854.
November 11, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Meat eaters clutching their pearls because the government culled a flock of meat birds is a supremely annoying timeline to be stuck in.

Signed, your friendly neighborhood vegetarian.
November 7, 2025 at 9:10 PM
This morning, over breakfast, my kiddo said “guess what mommy? Yesterday we talked about SOLDIERS. Isn’t that AWESOME!?”

Yes, that is awesome.
November 6, 2025 at 7:39 PM
I had custom postcards made of my favourite (ha! 😝) war photograph.
November 6, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Carla-Jean Stokes
The first Canadian platoon to enter Valenciennes from the west, advancing towards the Canal

and

Canadian Patrol crossing the railway in Valenciennes under heavy machine gun fire, both by William Rider-Rider, November 1918, LAC O-3504 & 3507.
November 2, 2025 at 2:56 PM
The first Canadian platoon to enter Valenciennes from the west, advancing towards the Canal

and

Canadian Patrol crossing the railway in Valenciennes under heavy machine gun fire, both by William Rider-Rider, November 1918, LAC O-3504 & 3507.
November 2, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Canadians who advanced recently on Passchendaele in billets, William Rider-Rider, November 1917, LAC O-3780.
November 1, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Happy Halloween!

If FWW photography is good for anything, clearly it's men playing dress-up (I kid, I kid). (Although also, I'm not kidding. It really is great).

Here are some snaps by Rider-Rider of a Maple Leaf Party in France, dated September 1917, LAC O-2012, 15, 16.
October 31, 2025 at 3:30 PM
My Gramma once told me she watched Sense and Sensibility on an airplane, then got home, saw it was on TV, and watched it again.

Honestly, so relatable.
a man in a hat is standing next to a horse
ALT: a man in a hat is standing next to a horse
media.tenor.com
October 26, 2025 at 4:41 AM
Some subjects along the Western Front had the ability to capture the imagination of numerous photographers.

The Albert Cathedral was no exception. British and Canadian war photographers returned to it over the months and years.
October 24, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Today in parent-teacher conferences, the kindergarten teacher told us our daughter reminds her of a 45 year old woman and honestly, best compliment ever.
October 22, 2025 at 9:19 PM
I feel that I can’t emphasize this enough: I do not care about professional sports ⚾️
October 21, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Reposted by Carla-Jean Stokes
4th CMR Resting in a Barn, October 1917, William Rider-Rider, Library and Archives Canada.
October 20, 2025 at 5:42 PM
4th CMR Resting in a Barn, October 1917, William Rider-Rider, Library and Archives Canada.
October 20, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Reposted by Carla-Jean Stokes
A Happy Scene at a Canadian Ammunition Dump, William Ivor Castle, October 1916, Library and Archives Canada.
October 17, 2025 at 4:07 PM
A Happy Scene at a Canadian Ammunition Dump, William Ivor Castle, October 1916, Library and Archives Canada.
October 17, 2025 at 4:07 PM
October 16 marks the anniversary of (what appears to be) the first publication of Ivor Castle's iconic series showing Canadians "going over the top."

This series of 4 photographs was used repeatedly for the remainder of the war, often w/ fabricated captions or as illustrations for other events.
October 16, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Reposted by Carla-Jean Stokes
Abbé Thuliez holding Thanksgiving Service in Cambrai Cathedral, William Rider-Rider, Sunday, October 14, 1918. This print belongs to the Archives of Ontario.
October 13, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Abbé Thuliez holding Thanksgiving Service in Cambrai Cathedral, William Rider-Rider, Sunday, October 14, 1918. This print belongs to the Archives of Ontario.
October 13, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Skipped the middle-man and made trays of sandwiches for Thanksgiving dinner.

On homemade focaccia, of course.
October 13, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Reposted by Carla-Jean Stokes
William Ivor Castle's series showing Canadians "going over the top" turns 109 this month!

I love seeing variants of this image in different collections. But what does that mean?
October 10, 2025 at 3:34 PM
William Ivor Castle's series showing Canadians "going over the top" turns 109 this month!

I love seeing variants of this image in different collections. But what does that mean?
October 10, 2025 at 3:34 PM