Breathtaking Photos Showing the Moment World War I Ended in Color For the First Time

Breathtaking photos showing the agony and ecstasy of the end of the First World War have been brought to life in color for the first time.

Jubilant crowds in New York can be seen celebrating the allied forces’ victory and joyful soldiers make the long journey home from the front lines. Man charged after woman, 73, burgled then stabbed to death at home. Another photo reveals nuns peacefully laying wreaths in a field of mass graves.

But these photos stand in stark contrast to ones depicting coffins of fallen British troops being solemnly carried through the streets of London.

The photos were colorized by Cardiff based electrician Royston Leonard, who painstakingly brought them into the 21st century. ”The First World War was the first-time machines took over the battlefield, guns got massive with both sides raining down shells by the day,” he said. “It made it hell for troops on the ground to the point where the men just had no hope at all, it was just madness.”

The announcement of armistice brought ecstatic scenes to Philadelphia. This picture was taken on Nov 11, 1918.

Captain Benjamin H Geary VC, 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment being carried in on a stretcher by prisoner bearers at Achiet-le-Petit. 21 Aug 1918.

A crowd of soldiers on the Western Front celebrating as an officer announces the news of the Armistice.

Three soldiers look out across a battlefield where wagons are upturned and destroyed and craters break up the mud.

A group of troops wave their hats as they pose for a camera on the edge of a road next to some hedgerows on Armistice Day.

New Zealand troops on the Western front laughing and smiling in a trench.

Canadian soldiers charging at the enemy during a dawn attack by going over the top of the trenches.

One poignant photo shows the funeral of Sergeant Henry Nicholas, VC, in World War I, France.

20th Battery Canadian Field Artillery, Neuville St. Vaast, April 1917. The horse are soaking and laden with gear.

German soldiers on board a tank which bears the word escapade on the side. Three sit on the top while another leans out of the window.

Crowds in New York celebrate the end of the First World War. America joined the conflict in 1917.

A group of Scottish soldiers wearing kilts smiled for the camera as they prepared to board a truck to head away from the battlefields.

Nuns laying wreaths in a field of mass graves. The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I was around 40million.

Smiling British men and boys marching out of a trench at captured from the Germans at the Somme. A sign reads 'the old hun line' - referring to where the German front line used to be.

A group of eight British soldiers stand next to a blown-out building. They smile as they pose for the camera wearing their helmets.

A German prisoner helps British wounded make their way to a dressing station near Bernafay Wood, following fighting on Bazentin Ridge, July 19, 1916, during the Battle of the Somme.

Scottish troops march with combat gear and rifles slung over their backs as they make their way over a grassy mound during the Battle of the Canal du Nord, 1918.

Canadaian soldiers relax in a captured trench in France. One can be seen attending to his rifle as another smokes a cigarette.

French soldiers at the Battle of Verdun. One sits on the mud as others help the wounded.

A bombed out town with collapsing buildings as a lone soldier wanders near a crater. Pictured 24. A gigantic shell crater, 75 yards in circumference, Ypres, Belgium, October 1917.

German officers with an armored car, Ukraine, Spring of 1918. They stand next to the car as they smile for the camera.

(Photos: Royston Leonard / Media Drum World)