Now and then the photography community pulls together to investigate lost photos that have recently resurfaced, tracking down the photographer or the subjects – and we may need that community help!
Earlier this year at The Photography & Video Show 2024, a volunteer working on the The Disabled Photographers Society stall opened a box of donations to prepare them. (Used cameras are sold by the charitable society to raise money, and the stand is a treasure trove that many make a beeline to.)
The volunteer found, in a box, an undeveloped film dating back to 1948 and – most surprisingly – featured images of the Olympic Games in London!
The London Olympic Games in 1948 marked a significant sporting landmark as it was the first Olympic games to be held post-war after a 12-year hiatus.
The Photography & Video Show posted this special find to its social media page, asking if anybody had any information regarding who the mystery photographer may be. Looking at the images doesn't give that much to go on, especially as it seems the photographs were taken from the crowd rather than a designated photographer area. There are however a few clues that can be extrapolated from the subjects captured.
After a little digging, the first photograph in the sequence features the male athletes taking part in the 400M hurdle final at Wembley Stadium on July 31, 1948 – almost 76 years ago to the day!
The photograph was taken mid-race from the side of the track and features hurdlers Roy Cochran (USA), Duncan White (Ceylon / Sri Lanka), Rune Larsson (Sweden), Dick Ault (USA), Yves Cros (France), and Ottavio Missoni (Italy), a race which finished in this order respectively.
The photograph shows Rune Larsson is the closest in the frame, with Duncan White just behind, so given the finishing order, the image must have been taken fairly early on in the race for Cochran to catch up and produce an Olympic Record-winning finishing time. This places the photographer in a particular part of the stadium.
Above: An image gallery showing the images from The London Olympics 1948
With this information, the location, and the date in question may provide a start to tracing down the photographer responsible for capturing these moments in history.
The rest of the photographs feature images from a relay race and a long-distance race, but other than that there isn't much else to go on.
If you can put your sleuthing skills to the test and find out more, The Photography & Video Show team would love to hear from you on its social media account. Let's try and return these images to their rightful owner!
