Photographers - Part 11

Laurence Le Guay

Laurence Le Guay (1916-1990) was an Australian photographer, pictured above as a war photographer in Sicily in 1943.  He was interested in photography from boyhood, and in 1937 he opened his own studio in Sydney.

His early work was somewhat surrealist and symbolic.  This untitled 1939 montage shows a nude man and woman, a child playing with toy soldiers, and a real soldier.  World War II had either just broken out or was about to break out.  Note that the nude man's genitals are not quite hidden by the soldier's rifle in this multiple exposure.

Le Guay and other leading Australian photographers formed the Contemporary Camera Groupe.  Among other things, they wanted to portray the sun-worshipping, healthy Australian body.  Above is Le Guay's 1940 Australian version of the discus thrower, on the beach, of course.

Then in 1940, Le Guay enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force, where he served with RAAF units in the Mediterranean as  a photographer.  This photo in El Daba, Egypt was taken on Christmas day, 1943.  The photo caption is: "Sergeant Alan H. Little, Electrician, a member of No. 451 (Spitfire) Squadron RAAF, makes use of a tub of water for a bath."

In July, 1943, Le Guay traveled from North Africa to Malta, which had resisted Nazi attacks and was still in British hands.  The photo caption is: "Members of the Desert Harassers No. 450 (Kittyhawk) Squadron RAAF enjoying the water spray used for cooling off and showers on deck on the transport ship, during the crossing of the Mediterranean to Malta."

That same month, the Allies invaded Sicily, the first step in recapturing Europe.  The invasion was supported by air cover from Malta.  The caption on this July 1943 photo is: "Sicily, Italy. Naked members of a RAAF Fighter Bomber Squadron stand in a well or trough and use a bucket to pour water over them for bathing."

Then mainland Italy was invaded.  The location for this 1944 photo is only given as Italy.  The caption is: "Flight Sergeant E. A. Walker of Minyip, Vic, assists his friend to take a 'home made' shower."

The island of Corsica is part of France, but it had been occupied by Italian and German troops.  It was liberated in late 1943.  This photo from Poretta, Corsica in April, 1944 is captioned: "Flight Sergeant R. F. Sheppard of Adelaide, SA makes use of a stream in the vicinity of the camp to do some washing."

After the war, Le Guay set up a new studio in Sydney and founded the Australian photographic magazine Contemporary Photography.  Through the 50s and 60s he was the leading fashion photographer in Sydney and became known internationally.