Goan photographer captures a world in transition
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In 1918, Victor Pereira, a photographer from the Portuguese colony of Goa, photographed officers from Dunsterforce in Baghdad, a military unit created after Russia left World War I.
By that time, Pereira had already travelled extensively, mirroring the war’s reach across Europe, Russia, West Asia, Africa and the Pacific. He began his career establishing P Victor & Co. studios in Bombay and Gwalior, India, serving a growing clientele including the Scindia royal family.
Pereira’s success in princely India led to commissions to photograph events like a tiger hunt hosted by the Maharaja of Gwalior in 1914, requiring soldiers to signal for him across the hills. As the First World War expanded, British India provided over 1.3 million soldiers and labourers. Recognizing the power of images, the British military hired Pereira as an official photographer for the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, a campaign fought with substantial Indian manpower and resources.
Working in places like Basra, Baghdad, and along the Shatt al-Arab river in modern-day Iraq, Pereira documented the war and daily life. His photographs, often sold as postcards marked “P Victor & Co., Official Photographers, Mesp Exp Force”, reached audiences across the globe. He also encountered key figures such as Harry St John Philby, a British administrator who would later advise the founder of Saudi Arabia, and shared photographic techniques with him.
Today, his work resides in museums and appears in online sales, offering a glimpse into a world shaped by commerce, war, and shifting empires.
