Prisoners held at Pusan by the South Koreans, September 1950 by Bert Hardy for the Picture Post. This series of photos showing terrible abuse of prisoners, sanctioned by the UN Allies, was the beginning of the end of Picture Post and of Hardy as their chief photographer.

Bert Hardy was sent by editor Tom Hopkinson, along with reporter James Cameron, to cover the Korean War. Bert Hardy's career at Picture Post never reallly recovered after attempts were made by the owner Edward Hulton to kill the story due to it reflecting badly on the Allies.

Hardy and Cameron came across the prisoners aged between 14 and 70 who were being held outside the railway station at Pusan. They were tied up like this and beaten when they tried to drink rainwater from the puddles.

Bert Hardy was a fearless photographer and insisted on photographing the scene even when confronted by soldiers of the South Korean dictator Syngman Rhee. When they arrived back in London they faced a barrage of criticism and an attack on editorial independence.

James Cameron's accompanying story was highly critical of the Allies and was immediately killed by editor Tom Hopkinson in that style. It was rewritten in less harsh terms and made ready for publication. Hopkinson said Hardy's photos were the best he had ever seen.

Then Edward G. Hulton, the owner of Picture Post, intervened to stop the story being run. He was fiercely opposed to communism and on the verge of receiving an honour. He insisted on stopping the presses and put pressure on Hopkinson to kill the story completely.

A week later Hopkinson ran the story anyway and was sacked for it by Edward Hulton. Bert Hardy was not sacked but Hulton had his revenge by killing much of his subsequent work which to this day lies unpublished in the Hulton Archive.

After Hopkinson was sacked the Picture Post lost all direction. A series of new editors (seven in total) were appointed and left over the coming years. Picture Post eventually died in 1957, not with a bang but a whimper. These photos put it on that slippery slope to oblivion.