Over the past few weeks we have looked at a number of photographs of the RAF in Nigeria in the Second World War, tonight we have the final image from this series:
This photograph depicts a large group of airmen, clearly watching some sort of activity, possible some sort of sport as they are all arranged in a long line as if at the edge of a pitch. Some are seated on the ground:
But most have elected to stand:
It is clearly a relaxed atmosphere as one of the men sports a large white fake beard:
Their status as airmen is clear from the shoulder insignia visible on several of them:
The back of the photograph has a studio stamp from Lagos, Nigeria and the background of the photograph has a long line of palm trees:
A couple of bicycles can be seen behind the men, presumably used by a couple of members of the party:
Sports and recreational pursuits have always been a major part of military life, helping break up the monotony of training, maintaining morale and encouraging team work. Even in far off postings the armed forces worked hard to provide sporting facilities for their men, however basic these might have been. Sadly the exact nature of the event these airmen are watching is not recorded, but it seems likely that it would have been a welcome relief from their day to day service life.
