Even World War II Had Its Weird Side
Strange and unexpected photos of wartime innovation, animal mascots, and Churchill in a onesie.
by Anika Burgess June 01, 2017
In the vast archive of photos held at Britain’s Imperial War Museums (IWM)—some 11 million images—there are some that defy all expectations of what life was like during wartime. One of the Royal Navy’s mascots, Venus the bulldog, hangs out a porthole and wears a jauntily-angled hat. Spitfires are painted pink to blend in at sunrise and sunset. A woman adorns a cow with white stripes.
These are the lighter, unexpected, eccentric moments, enlivened with odd facts and unusual stories, that make up the new IWM book Weird War Two: Intriguing Items and Surprising Stuff from the Second World War. “Not only does this book offer some remarkable and often unbelievable anecdotes, but it highlights the tenacity of the people who lived through some of the darkest days in our history,†writes author Peter Taylor. “This book is proof that the truth is often stranger than fiction.â€
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/weird-war-two-wwii-strange-photographs
