Although it was highly illegal to take unofficial photographs in the trenches, keen amateur photographer George Hackney smuggled a small, concealable camera with him when he was called to fight on the Western Front.
While many of the men featured in the poignant shots did not survive the bloody conflict in which over 37 million people died, Hackney, who was from Belfast, lived into his late 80s and shared his photos with the loved ones of his subjects.
In 1977, his collection was donated to the Ulster Museum before his death, but was left unseen by the public for over three decades until a curator handed them over to a filmmaker two years ago.
Experts believe that on top of the initial 300 images, there could be as many as 200 more to be found.
Tonight, a documentary entitled 'The Man Who Shot the Great' on BBC One Northern Ireland will showcase Hackney’s images to the wider public for the first time ever, and bring the photographer’s story to life.
