Bert Hardy, as with most of the great photographers found his passion for a camera when just a young man. At fourteen working for a chemist’s he found a job that enabled him access to a darkroom.

He worked for a small Fleet Street news agency and found his photos regularly published in the Picture Post so in 1941 he sought and acquired a job there under the Editorship of Tom Hopkinson. His documentary style of photography led to many assignments, delving into the lives of the working class whose trust he gained enabling him to work closely with them.

His observations of life in the Gorbals or for those living around the Elephant and Castle in South London are images that lead you into the lives of the subjects, a hunger to know more about the subjects and how their stories ended.

He served in the Army photography unit during the war and was at the beach landings on D Day and among the first photographers to arrive at Belsen. He later served as Mountbatten’s personal photographer in Asia.

After leaving the army he returned to Picture Post and visited Korea where a controversial set of pictures of political prisoners caused problems for Picture Post and the sacking of the Editor Tom Hopkinson.

Following on from Picture Post and Hardy pursued a career in advertising with clients such as Lucozade, Nestlé, Heineken, KLM Dutch Airlines, Kellogs, Oxo and Nivea who remain household names today.