Associated Press Press Photograph – “Children at War” – Cambodian Children near Phnom Penh – January 1975

An original Associated Press press photograph issued from London for publication on 24 January 1975, titled “Children at War”. The photograph shows Cambodian children at a government military position around a mortar pit, approximately twelve miles south-east of Phnom Penh, during the closing months of the Cambodian Civil War.

The original Associated Press caption remains affixed to the reverse and explains that the children were playing around the mortar position at the scene of recent heavy fighting. It notes that government troops in the area were conducting a counter-offensive against insurgent forces who had been firing rockets into the Cambodian capital.

The image is a powerful example of Vietnam War-era and wider Indochina conflict photojournalism. Although not taken in Vietnam itself, it belongs directly to the wider regional conflict that engulfed Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos during the 1970s. The composition is especially striking: children stand and play beside military equipment, including a rifle and mortar-related material, creating a stark visual contrast between childhood and war.

The photograph was distributed by Associated Press from London and is accompanied by its original typed agency caption. The photographer is not named. It comes from the photographic archive of the Shields Gazette and bears the newspaper’s archive stamp and filing marks to the reverse, providing excellent provenance and confirming its survival from a working British newspaper archive.

Original Associated Press photographs relating to Cambodia in 1975 are particularly interesting, as this was the year of the fall of Phnom Penh and the beginning of Khmer Rouge rule. Images documenting civilian life, children and the impact of conflict have strong historical, documentary and collector appeal.

Condition: Very good condition. Minor edge wear and light creasing, consistent with use and handling within a newspaper archive. Original Associated Press caption remains attached to the reverse, with Shields Gazette archive stamp and filing marks present.

Agency: Associated Press
Date: January 1975
Size: 14.5 x 20.3 cm
Medium: Black-and-white press photograph
Photographer: Not named
Provenance: Shields Gazette photographic archive
Subject: Cambodia, Cambodian Civil War, Phnom Penh, children, conflict photojournalism

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