To mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Manx National Heritage will open a new exhibition at the House of Manannan in Peel.
Leonard McCombe; Through the Lens of War examines the work of a Manx photographer whose work took him to Europe in the final months of the conflict.
As well as documenting scenes on the battlefields of Europe, alongside household names such as the BBC’s Richard Dimbleby, McCombe travelled first to Germany and then on to Poland as VE Day brought the fighting to a close.
McCombe’s Work
In these war-ravaged countries, McCombe’s particular talent was to capture people.
Always seeming to be in the right place at the right time, McCombe was among the first of what would be termed photojournalists.
Rather than merely capturing scenes to support the text of a writer, McCombe’s work was strong enough to stand on its own.
Through The Lens of War Exhibition
MNH Curator of Art & Social History Matthew Richardson said: “Working on the exhibition Leonard McCombe: Through the Lens of War has been both exciting and rewarding for me.
“It is unusual in this era to uncover a completely forgotten archive but that is what the McCombe family appear to have done.
MNH Curator of Art & Social History Matthew Richardson.
“Leonard was a man who did not court publicity, indeed in his later years seems to have actively avoided it, but in rediscovering his treasure trove of negatives and bringing them to a wider audience, Clark and Beverly McCombe have done those of us with an interest in the Second World War a great service.”
Humbling Experience
McCombe’s son, Clark, added: “It has been a humbling experience to appreciate my father in a different light.
“My wife Beverly urged me to record my father in his final years and her hard work in archiving his photos and scrapbooks has made this exhibition possible.
“Until then, Dad had rarely spoke of himself, his experience in the war, or his career as a Life photographer but he modestly kept negatives and prints tucked away in the farmhouse attic.
Clark McCombe.
“Thanks to the perseverance of Maxine Cannon at the Post Office, along with Beverly’s meticulous documentation and attention to detail, we are able to share a remarkable insight to a difficult point in history 80 years ago.”
The free to attend exhibition runs from May 8 to October 5.
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