PORTSMOUTH, England -- Rare photographs that show African slaves being freed by the Royal Navy have gone on display for the first time, as part of an exhibition to mark the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade.

The photographs, which are being shown at the Royal Naval Museum, show a sailor removing a manacle from a slave, as well as Marines with slave traders, in about 1907. They were donated by Samuel Chidwick, 74, of Dover, whose father, Able Seaman Joseph Chidwick, took them on board HMS Sphinx off the East African coast.

Jacquie Shaw, of the museum, said: “The collection comprises a fascinating and important snapshot of life on antislavery duties off the coast of Africa.” The exhibition runs until January.