These photos are real! It's surprising at first glance since they show cross-dressed British soldiers operating a defense cannon during the Second World War. They were taken by photographer John Topham while he was visiting the Royal Artillery Coastal Defense Battery at Fort Shornemead in Kent, England. These are therefore neither Photoshopped nor staged by the German propaganda apparatus, but real photos with a historical background!
The context that made these photos possible is as follows: The photographer had been invited to cover a charity event taking place on the base for the upcoming Christmas of 1940. The highlight of the show was a group of soldiers entirely disguised as showgirls who were performing on stage. Only in the middle of the show did the sirens start wailing. Luftwaffe bombers were reported. There was no time to change into their regulation uniforms, so the soldiers in question rushed to their combat stations in their dresses. Some took the time to put on their helmets, another put a bullet belt around his waist.
Cross-dressing shows were not uncommon in the army at the time to relieve stress and let the men have fun, but of course officials at the Ministry of Information immediately banned any publication of the images, alarmed at the thought of what the German propaganda service might do with them.
Fortunately, the photographer kept the negatives, which means that these photographs still exist!
