Made in the Trenches, Composed Entirely from Articles and Sketches Contributed by Soldiers

by Frederick Treves (Editor), George Goodchild (Editor)

A magazine-style book created in 1916 and composed entirely of articles and sketches contributed by British soldiers fighting on the front lines – a light-hearted and eclectic mix of stories, poems, cartoons and, littered at regular intervals throughout, a comic series of encyclopaedic entries for military terms. Although the editor George Goodchild states in his Editorial Note that his aim was “to give a really representative idea of the life and thought of the Army as a whole”, there is nothing on the pain and horrors the soldiers faced on a daily basis. This is perhaps not that surprising, given the timing of the book. With the war still raging and spirits in need of lifting, you get the sense that it’s been carefully edited to exclude anything too macabre and demoralising, though it still provides a fascinating glimpse into a special kind of humour that no doubt prevailed in and amongst the terrors experienced. - See more at:

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240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1916

About the author

Sir Frederick Treves, Bt, GCVO, CH, CB, LL.D, FRCS

Reviews

[Geevee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully evocative peek into the memories, writings and thoughts of men who served in the trenches of the Western Front, Gallipoli, Africa and elsewhere. I read it in a single day with a real pleasure; but with one eye on the damage done to the men who contributed and their frustrations and need to help their mates and the similarities to those I know who have served their nation almost a century later where the fears, humour, boredom, terror and the detachment with the people at home are near the same.

There are little articles culled from corps or battalion newsletters (such as the RAMC) with some great cartoons although outside of the one on the cover no other Old Bill and an encyclopaedia of military terms.

It is rich in humour of the day and covers a broad range of subjects from letters home, death, fear, and being wounded to Anzac slang and sketches ranging from horses to trenches and officer caricatures to life in Gallipoli.

The account of a medical officer under fire is short but atmospheric as is the relaxed but serious short article on a trench mortar battery that recounts operating their "murder" weapon and the daily counter fire and shelling between the foes with casualties - some dead some crippled - in their unit but so average is this the unit daily report says "nothing doing".

A story about an armoured train lies alongside in this book the letter from a wounded Russian to mention of the Bull Ring at Etaples, made infamous by the 1980s BBC's heavily dramatised series set there in the Monocled Mutineer.

There is poetry aplenty and whilst it may not be Blunden, Owen or Sassoon it is from the heart as is the excerpt from a soldier's diary and all give colour and depth to the fighting man who is now a historic being on film and in print.

Two of my favourite jokes was the Hints for War Brides and this exchange on the award of a gallantry medal:
1st Private: "Say! Have you heard that Ted Smith has got the D.C.M.?"
2nd Private: "What for?"
1st Private; "I dunno"
2nd Private: "Blimey, why ain't I got one too? I hid in the same dugout"

The DCM is the Distinguished Conduct Medal which was second only to the Victoria Cross for non-commissioned officers and men.

So there it is I thought this was a fine book and yet it is the Preface that stays with me more than anything else. The book was printed and sold to raise money for the Star and Garter home. It is a home for ex-servicemen (then) who were paralysed by spinal or brain injury leaving them bed-ridden and with little hope for the rest of their lives and there are just 65 beds and the home is full. The home and the care will help them and make their lives a little more comfortable for the next 30, 40, 50 or more years.

The author says in the Preface "Let the people of this country who are safe and sound remember that it is in fighting for England (sic) that such dire ruin fell upon these men and it rests with those for whom they fought to afford them whatever comfort it is within the power of man to bestow."

Today that home still cares for our service men and women as The Royal Star and Garter doing a wonderful job: http://starandgarter.org/ They now have two homes - the second helped with funding by other military charities - and are looking to open a third. They have a section on their website exploring WWI with two stories of two residents from tthat early era including a connection to the Unknown Warrior: http://starandgarter.org/about-us/his...

Made in the Trenches is available on the web for free it is a book to spend a few hours with and enjoy and lament with the lads who contributed to it: http://publicdomainreview.org/collect...

[Bettie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bettie's Books

[Wanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

22 SEP 2014 - I read this in one sitting and cannot recommend it strongly enough. Made in the Trenches is one of those "important" books.

I love everything about this little book/magazine and like Combed Out, Made in the Trenches will stay with me for a very long time.

Find and read your copy here:

http://publicdomainreview.org/collect...

Combed Out may be found here:

Manybooks.net:

http://manybooks.net/titles/voigtf163...

or here, Project Gutenberg:

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16355

[Laura]

You may read online here.

[B. Barron · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main reason it gets a 2 is the editing stunk.
A good editing, standardizing the text, dealing with the non-standard English, making the cartoons clearer - it would have earned a solid 3. Some of the individual stories were very, very good.


https://openlibrary.org/books/OL71349....