Laugh or Cry
The British Soldier on the Western Front, 1914-1918
Published on 29. December 2022
266 pages
978-1-3990-6881-9 (ISBN)
Description
Awakened by great shouted oaths below. Peeped over the side of the manger and saw a Belgian lass milking and addressing a cow with a comprehensive luridness that left no doubt in my mind that British soldiers had been billeted here before.'' - Private Norman Ellison, 1/6th King's Liverpool Regiment Humor helped the British soldier survive the terrible experiences they faced in the trenches of the Western Front during the Great War. Human beings are complicated, and there is no set pattern as to how they react to the outrageous stresses of war. But humor, often dark and representative of the horrors around them could and often did help. They may have been up to their knees in mud and blood, soaking wet and shot at from all sides, but many were still determined to see the 'funny side', rather than surrender to utter misery. Peter Hart and Gary Bain have delved deep into the archives to find examples of the soldier's wit. The results are at times hilarious but rooted in tragedy. You have to laugh or cry.
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Other editions
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Book
10/2022
Pen & Sword Military
€47.00
Shipment within 10-20 days
Content
- Cover
- Book Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 First Clash of Arms, 1914
- Chapter 2 Back Home
- Chapter 3 Off to War
- Chapter 4 Conditions in the Trenches
- Chapter 5 Fighting in the Trenches
- Chapter 6 The Men All Loved Me!'
- Plate Section
- Chapter 7 Friends and Enemies
- Chapter 8 Gunners
- Chapter 9 You Can't Eat the Wireless!
- Chapter 10 Donkey's Bollocks!
- Chapter 11 Out of the Line
- Chapter 12 Over the Top
- Chapter 13 Advance to Victory, 1918
- Epitaph
- Acknowledgements
- Endnotes
