Lot Essay
Three nineteenth-century Anglo-Burmese wars resulted from clashes betweeen the kingdom and British India, in 1825, 1852 and finally in 1885. Although the western provinces along the sea coast had been annexed to Britain after 1852, it was not until this expedition, during which the King was captured, that the whole country became part of the British Empire. Burma regained independence in 1948.
W.W. Hooper was Provost Marshal with the British Expeditionary Force, under command of General Prendergast, which occupied Upper Burma in 1885, and a keen photographer who almost lost his life trying to secure views of Burmese executions. A newspaper report of the time, written by the Times correspondent E.K Moylan, greatly criticised the way in which Hooper treated this subject. The inhuman aspect of photographing victims at the time they were being killed caused a tremendous reaction in Britain to the extent that Members of Parliament were urged that Hooper be prosecuted. The drama ended in 1886 with a full court inquiry, following which Hooper was publicly reprimanded.
W.W. Hooper was Provost Marshal with the British Expeditionary Force, under command of General Prendergast, which occupied Upper Burma in 1885, and a keen photographer who almost lost his life trying to secure views of Burmese executions. A newspaper report of the time, written by the Times correspondent E.K Moylan, greatly criticised the way in which Hooper treated this subject. The inhuman aspect of photographing victims at the time they were being killed caused a tremendous reaction in Britain to the extent that Members of Parliament were urged that Hooper be prosecuted. The drama ended in 1886 with a full court inquiry, following which Hooper was publicly reprimanded.