Sources:

http://www.bobbrookes.co.uk/bernard.htm Christmas Truce Diary Entry

One appreciated in a new light the meaning of Christianity, for it certainly was marvellous that such a change in the
attitude of the opposing armies could be wrought by an Event which happened nigh on 2000 years ago.
The Germs wanted to continue a partial truce until the New Year, for as some of them said, they were heartily sick of the
war, and did not want to fight, but as we were leaving the trenches early next morning, and naturally did not want them
to know, we insisted on the truce ending at midnight, at which time our artillery sent over to them four shells of small
calibre to let them know that the truce, at which the whole World would wonder, was ended, and in its place, death and
bloodshed would once more reign supreme
I was not particularly hungry but nearly mad with thirst, so much so that I urinated in my water bottle and tried to drink it, but that of
course was out of the question and the business of spitting it quickly out only increased my thirst. I felt very weak and my ribs were
very sore, the weight of my clothing and equipment aggravating the damaged spot. It never occurred to me to take off any
equipment as I thought I might be called on at any time to fight for my life. Diary http://www.harrys-ww1.co.uk/chapter2b.html
During the afternoon a chap looked over where the trench was shallow, and said, Look! I can see the
German line! But that was the last thing he saw. He slumped down in the trench, shot through the
brain.
- George Mitchell Mitchell, G D 1937, Backs to the wall, Angus & Robertson, Sydney,
N.S.W.
Great, sleek, corpse-fed rats ran in squads between our legs and over our feet as we stood. Their
obscene squeaking could be heard at all times. Some men conceived an unmeasured hatred of these
loathsome things, and were always trying to slaughter them. I wondered, as I stood, did they picture
themselves as those scattered corpses- a prey to these. Imagination is decidedly not good for a soldier.
It is one of the things Kipling forgot to tell us.
Mitchell, G D 1937, Backs to the wall, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, N.S.W.
Like some liquid the heavy-coloured vapour poured relentlessly into the trenches, filled them, and
passed on.
For a few seconds nothing happened; the sweet-smelling stuff merely tickled their nostrils; they failed to
realize the danger. Then, with inconceivable rapidity, the gas worked, and blind panic spread.
Hundreds, after a dreadful fight for air, became unconscious and died where they lay - a death of
hideous torture, with the frothing bubbles gurgling in their throats and the foul liquid welling up in their
lungs. With blackened faces and twisted limbs one by one they drowned - only that which drowned
them came from inside and not from out.
Others, staggering, falling, lurching on, and of their ignorance keeping pace with the gas, went back.
A hail of rifle fire and shrapnel mowed them down, and the line was broken. There was nothing on the
British left - their flank was up in the air. The northeast corner of the salient around Ypres had been
pierced. From in front of St. Julien away up north toward Boesinghe there was no one in front of the
Germans.
Source: Source Records of the Great War, Vol. III, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923

CArtoon
http://inthefootsteps.org.uk/articles/1914-18greatwar/lifeinthetrenches.htm
No words can adequately describe the conditions. Its not the Germans were fighting, but the weather. Within an hour of
moving off, we were up to our knees in mud and water.
The mud gradually got deeper as we advanced along the trench.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2491760/Harry-Drinkwaters-lost-diary-Great-War.html#ixzz3rsjt8x6h
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Our food - cold bacon, bread and jam - is slung together in a sack that hangs from the dripping dugout roof.
Consequently, we eat and drink mud.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2491760/Harry-Drinkwaters-lost-diary-Great-War.html#ixzz3rsk2tkf4
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The place inside and out was a shambles. Outside, a churned-up mixture of limbs, trenching tools,
rapidly decaying bodies, fragments of accoutrements, mud, and foul slime. Inside, a welter of what had
been, perhaps, six men, lying disjointedly in a foot of discoloured water.
http://firstworldwar.com/diaries/nightmare.htm
Alan F. Hyder, an "Old Contemptible". War service in France 1914 to 1918.
First published in Everyman at War (1930), edited by C. B. Purdom.

When I made my debut in the line I had a cheerful conviction that nothing would hit me. And I remember
standing on the fire-step for the first time and saying to myself exultantly: "You're in it at last! You're in
it! The greatest thing that's ever happened!" Six months afterwards (the end of the war) I appeared in
the streets again as a civilian with a profound hatred for war and everything it implies.
First published in Everyman at War (1930), edited by C. B. Purdom.

He drowsed and was aware of silence heaped

Round him, unshaken as the steadfast walls;
Aqueous like floating rays of amber light,
Soaring and quivering in the wings of sleep.
Silence and safety; and his mortal shore
Lipped by the inward, moonless waves of death.
Someone was holding water to his mouth.
He swallowed, unresisting; moaned and dropped
Through crimson gloom to darkness; and forgot
The opiate throb and ache that was his wound.
Watercalm, sliding green above the weir.
Watera sky-lit alley for his boat,
Bird- voiced, and bordered with reflected flowers
And shaken hues of summer; drifting down,
He dipped contented oars, and sighed, and slept.
Night, with a gust of wind, was in the ward,
Blowing the curtain to a glimmering curve.
Night. He was blind; he could not see the stars
Glinting among the wraiths of wandering cloud;
Queer blots of colour, purple, scarlet, green,
Flickered and faded in his drowning eyes.
Rainhe could hear it rustling through the dark;
Fragrance and passionless music woven as one;
Warm rain on drooping roses; pattering showers
That soak the woods; not the harsh rain that sweeps
Behind the thunder, but a trickling peace,
Gently and slowly washing life away.
He stirred, shifting his body; then the pain
Leapt like a prowling beast, and gripped and tore
His groping dreams with grinding claws and fangs.
But someone was beside him; soon he lay
Shuddering because that evil thing had passed.
And death, who'd stepped toward him, paused and stared.
Light many lamps and gather round his bed.
Lend him your eyes, warm blood, and will to live.

Speak to him; rouse him; you may save him yet.

He's young; he hated War; how should he die
When cruel old campaigners win safe through?
But death replied: 'I choose him.' So he went,
And there was silence in the summer night;
Silence and safety; and the veils of sleep.
Then, far away, the thudding of the guns.
.KonaBody Stiegfried Sasson

Soldiers are citizens of death's gray land,

Drawing no dividend from time's to-morrows.
In the great hour of destiny they stand,
Each with his feuds, and jealousies, and sorrows.
Soldiers are sworn to action; they must win
Some flaming, fatal climax with their lives.
Soldiers are dreamers; when the guns begin
They think of firelit homes, clean beds, and wives.
I see them in foul dug-outs, gnawed by rats,
And in the ruined trenches, lashed with rain,
Dreaming of things they did with balls and bats,
And mocked by hopeless longing to regain
Bank-holidays, and picture shows, and spats,
And going to the office in the train.
.KonaBody
Siegfried Sassoon

Cookery book for the trenches by Hans Werder (A. v. Bonin-Zanthier) - See more at: http://www.bl.uk/collectionitems/trench-cookbook#sthash.8phmRrJV.dpuf
Todays men are often able to cook well, partly as a result of the emancipation process and changes to role perceptions in
modern society. Not so at the beginning of the 20th century, when cooking was often seen as a womans job, be it the
mother, the wife or a housemaid. This cookbook for soldiers in the trenches contains advice about creating meals with
few ingredients or utensils. Food was in short supply and its preparation was rough and ready. Chefs in field kitchens
were often soldiers, too. For recipes normally cooked on a stove, a barbecue alternative is given. Instructions are clearly
aimed at the novice: To boil an egg takes 3 to 5 minutes, counting from the moment when the water boils (the water is
boiling when it is blistering). A meal of bacon and fried eggs is garnished with the remark: Even though this is a popular
breakfast snack in Britain, this meal can also be highly recommended at our place. - See more at:
http://www.bl.uk/collection-items/trench-cookbook#sthash.8phmRrJV.dpuf (See photo of cover)

Source
Aspect of Daily Life
Difficulties

British soldier washing in a shell crater

Washing, shaving
Soldiers were expected to keep themselves and their equipment clean. Lack of clean water and
surrounding mud means that soldiers efforts to remain clean are in vain and could lead to disease. No
mirror with a razor can lead to injury.
An Alpine barber in the trenches of Cerna
May not be a trained barber. Lice. No proper facilities.
Cook book for the trenches
Hair cutting, shaving
Cooking, eating
Lack of facilities. Text translation label reveals men lacked knowledge about how to cook.
German book of First World War photographs
Playing cards
Resting
Little to do to occupy time when waiting for/to attack or for orders. Little space to pass leisure time in.
Highlanders and Drogas in a trench
Although resting, constant threat of attack that they needed to be ready for. No space to lie down. No
shelter from the noise of shells or the weather.
Indian infantry digging trenches
Manual work
Hard and tiring work. Threat of attack.
Italian priest giving communion English Soldiers
Observing religious beliefs and commitments
No church building. Constant threat of death or injury and sheer scale of war made some question
beliefs. Facility for priest or religious leader may not have been open for all religions or all areas on a
regular basis. This kind of open communion was likely to have taken place in the reserve trenches rather
than at the front line
2
The British Library | www.bl.uk/world-war-one

Getting drunk was a coping mechanism and alcohol was readily supplied for this purpose.
Women were not with the men in the trenches meaning that soldiers missed their loved
ones and had to bear the thought of possibly not seeing them again. Some soldiers
Diggers Dialects:
Communication,
slang phrases
getting
visited prostitutes during rest times which led to a rise in cases of poor sexual health. The
used by Australian
drunk, soldiers
seeing women
Diggers Dialect Dictionary reveals that people of different rank and status and who
spoke various languages were living closely together. As a result, communication was not
always easy.

Extracts from the diary of Gerard

Long days, little to do, boredom. Other times, pockets of intense activity related to
Roland Garvin
Typical
after days
detachment
recorded
to
combat. Weather a constant problem, particularly rain.
Divisional Staff from July 1916

Postcard 'Fighting Fleas (?) in Flanders' from HUNTER-WESTON PAPERS. Private War Diary. 11th Infantry Brigade of
The Old Contemptibles. Vol. IX. France and Flanders. Aug.1914-15 Feb. 1915.
Created:
1914
Format:
Postcard / Drawing / Manuscript
Held by:
British Library
Copyright:
The copyright status of HUNTER-WESTON PAPERS. Private War Diary. 11th Infantry Brigade of The Old
Contemptibles. Vol. IX. France and Flanders. Aug.1914 -15 Feb. 1915 is unknown.
- See more at: http://www.bl.uk/collection-items/fighting-fleas-flanders#sthash.vjhLkGoJ.dpuf
- Both officers and soldiers suffered greatly from the pests of fleas and lice while serving in the
trenches. To try and get rid of these pests they went to delousing stations. One such station is
depicted in this postcard. Here the soldiers are shown bathing in large tubs while their clothes were
being disinfected. This helped to kill off the fleas and lice. Unfortunately the lice eggs remained
hidden in the folds of their uniforms and so the lice soon reappeared. This postcard was designed
for the officers and soldiers of the 4th Division to send home to their family and friends at Christmas
1914. The 4th Division consisted of the 10th, 11th and 12th Brigades and was sent to France on 22
August 1914. The division later went on to fight at the Somme Offensive and at Passchendaele. See more at: http://www.bl.uk/collection-items/fighting-fleas-flanders#sthash.vjhLkGoJ.dpuf (see
postcard)

M
Full title: The trench
M
Formats: Illustration , Lithograph
M
Held by: Koninklijke Bibliotheek van Belgi (Bibliotheque Royale de Belgique)
M
Copyright: Koninklijke Bibliotheek van Belgi (Bibliotheque Royale de Belgique)
M
Descriptionnguage (English)
This is an etching of a trench filled with dead soldiers. It is the work of Henry de Groux (1886-1930), a Belgian symbolist
painter and sculptor. Images of the war in the newspapers made a deep impression on de Groux. The things he saw

and his own experiences urged him to create a series of drawings, etchings and lithographic prints about the atrocities
of the conflict.
- See more at: http://www.bl.uk/collection-items/the-trench#sthash.lhMDB1PT.dpuf (see artwork)

VictorSilvesterwasamemberofonefiringsquadin1916:"Thetears
wererollingdownmycheeksashewentonattemptingtofreehimself
fromtheropesattachinghimtothechair.Iaimedblindlyandwhenthe
gunsmokehadclearedawaywewerefurtherhorrifiedtoseethat,
althoughwounded,theintendedvictimwasstillalive.Stillblindfolded,
hewasattemptingtomakearunforitstillstrappedtothechair.The
bloodwasrunningfreelyfromachestwound.Anofficerincharge
steppedforwardtoputthefinishingtouchwitharevolverheldtothepoor
man'stemple.Hehadonlyoncecriedoutandthatwaswhenheshouted
theonewordmother.Hecouldnothavebeenmucholderthanme.We
weretoldlaterthathehadinfactbeensufferingfromshellshock,a
conditionnotrecognisedbythearmyatthetime.LaterItookpartinfour
moresuchexecutions."
http://spartacuseducational.com/FWWexecutions.htm