These mugshots were all taken from the 1914-1918 conflict and depict those arrested for crimes on the home front during war time. All taken from an album of photographs of prisoners brought before the North Shields Police Court in Tyne and Wear, the images were chosen by archival experts at Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums.
In order to discover the stories behind the mugshots, archive staff visited North Shields Local Studies Library where they painstakingly searched through old microfilm copies of old newspapers looking for reports of the court cases.
“Combining these two separate records gives us a fascinating insight into life on the Home Front during the First World War,” Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums said. “These images document the lives of people of different ages and backgrounds, both civilians and soldiers. Our purpose here is not to judge them but simply to reflect the realities of their time.”
Looking back across the decades, it’s hard not to feel pity for these hard-pressed individuals who were living through desperate times.
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| Charles S. Jones, arrested for stealing from clothes lines, 15 September 1914 |
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| Christina Austin, arrested for stealing dresses, 11 July 1916 |
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| Christina Haggerty, arrested for stealing money, 9 February 1916 |
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| Frederick Ellwood, fireman, arrested for breaking and entering, 4 August 1914 |
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| George Bamlett, grocer, arrested for assault, 19 October 1914 |
