The War-time Leaders of Themiclesia
The War-time Leaders of Themiclesia (震旦邦冓兵列執司) is a photograph taken on Sept. 1, 1947 in Gos-rjong Studio in Kien-k'ang, Themiclesia, depicting a number of government ministers and military officers, with their names inscribedunder their feet. The print was originally meant as a postcard for Hallian soldiers in Themiclesia to send home, but it has become one of the most recognizable photographs of Themiclesian people during the Pan-Septentrion War. The set was contrived to make the floor almost indistinguishable from the wall, so the figures appeared to be floating.
Overview
The photo depicts 21 men standing with their faces towards the camera, against a grey backdrop. There are 13 government ministers, in frock coats, and 8 military officers, in dress uniforms, some of which are also frock coats.
People
From the right, the individuals depicted and named are:
- Mr. Gos of the Inner Region, Colonel-general of the East [Expedition] Army
- Mr. Kaw of Pjang-nubh, Commandant of the Coast Guard
- Mr. Tung of Gar-ngwadh, Chief Admiral
- Mr. Drat of S.rum-l'jun, Colonel-general of the Air Force
- Mr Mim MP, of Sngrak, Secretary of State for Transport
- The Lord of Krungh, Marshal of Peers, Lord Speaker
- Lord Grar MP, Secretary of State for Food
- Mr Hem MP, of the Inner Region, Secretary of State for Economics
- The Lord of Dah, First Lord-in-waiting
- Mr. Long MP, of the Inner Region, Prime Minister
- Lord Krjo MP, Foreign Secretary
- Mr. Sak MP, of Sngrak, War Secretary
- The Lord of Stsorh, Navy Secretary
- Lord Srar MP, Home Secretary
- Lord Gos MP, Secretary of State for Air
- Mr. Braw MP, of the Inner Region, Speaker of the House of Commons
- The Lord of M'e', Secretary of State for Finance
- Mr. Nor of Tsjinh-gwin, Lieutenant-general of Tanks
- Mr. Lro of Gar-nem, Captain-general of Marines
- Mr. Nuk of Nem-derh, Colonel-general of the South [Expedition] Army
- Mr. Pon of Pek, Colonel-general of the Royal Signals Corps
History
This photograph was first printed on a major Themiclesian newspaper in 1948 and became a poster domestically, sold in the following year. It has since become one of the iconic photographs of the conflict, and historians have recovered several themes are present it.
According to the memoirs of the 5th Lord of Krungh, in the picture, it was taken at the behest of the Cabinet Office, which wanted to send the Hallian soldiers home with the impresion that the Themiclesian government has done everything to support the forces and, by extension, the Hallians. However, in doing so, the picture has become the first wide-published photograph in which Themiclesian military officers have been depicted in uniform with government ministers. Formerly, military officers were expected to change into civilian clothing before such pictures were taken. This is because some uniforms had better contrast than civilian dress, so military officers ran the unnecessary risk of being more visible. The Cabinet Office feared the Hallians might not read the legend under the figures' feet, so putting them in uniform made the desired statement clear.
However, historian A. Gro thinks that a different statement may have also been intended. He noticed that the government ministers stood in alternating party affiliation, i.e. Mim was a Liberal, the Lord of Krungh a Conservative, Lord Grar a Liberal again, etc. "This alternating order is certainly a conscious decision by the Cabinet Office in arranging this shot. It is too remote to be a coincidence, and earlier photographs of the war cabinet do not show this pattern," Gro writes. While most Themiclesians would have been utterly surprised to see officers depicted in uniform with members of the Government, he thinks that the alternating party affiliation is meant to intrigue the reader of the photograph, to take attention away from the military uniforms and remind the reader that the Government transcended party boundaries.
Normally, cabinet ministers sit without any order or in order of seniority from viewer's left to right. Gro further thinks that the fixed seating order further demonstrates the Cabinet Office's new powers acquired during wartime, sometimes even transgressing on individual ministers' political choices, which would be unthinkable before the war. "This power is not of a coersive nature, but one of interference. The Cabinet Office, by making this arrangement, is helping the Government maintain an appearance of unity," Gro writes, "and pre-war leaders of the civil service would not have done something like this, instead fully deferring to the ministers to market themselves to the nation." This conclusion has been cited by other works that commented on the Cabinet Office's role in the war.
There has long been speculation what the positions of the military officers indicated. It has been noted that the representative officer of the Coast Guard, which closely co-operated with the Navy during the war, is next to the Chief Admiral; however, that of the Marines, which did likewise, is far-flung on the other side of the ministers, standing closer to the army officers. The East Expedition Army has "Expedition" elided for lack of space and stands to the far right, next to the Coast Guard. "There seems to be no respect for the roles of these officers, who are obviously representing their respective services, as there are no two officers from one service," Gro says. This matter was solved when the studio released its records, stating that the positions of the military officers was aesthetic, because
The photographer wanted to produce a balanced image, without an excess of brightness or darkness on either end of the photograph, which would draw the reader's eyes away from the middle of the photograph. Thus, the Coast Guard was placed next to the Chief Admiral, as the former's white trousers neatly complemeted the very dark coat of the Admiral... The Marines' officer was placed next to the the South Army and Royal Signals, for the dark coat of the first balanced out the cream-coloured trousers of the latter two. The only officer difficult to place was the Air Force, since his coat was blue and blended in with nobody.
While there has also been some recent discussion Internet fora over the clothing choices of the figures, Gro has made an informal response stating that the clothing reveals not as much as some think. He states that
frock coats were a basic article of men's clothing during the 19th century, which evolved into formal and informal versions by the early 20th; formal frock coats were in navy, charcoal grey, of black wood, with or without stripes, while informal ones were any other colour. The former became standard for state and formal occasions, and 19th-century military uniforms were fundamentally a variation upon them. Distinct uniforms were only introduced after 1916. In any event, all military officers were wearing the most formal dress code their units' regulations permitted.