Trench Art

Veterans day got me thinking. The adage ‘war is long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror’ came to mind. I would not know. I’ve been lucky enough to live in a neutral country in a relatively peaceful time. But assuming we had kindred spirits in the trenches and on the battlefields, I bet they made stuff during those long periods of boredom.

I went hunting, and discovered an entire genre called “Trench Art”. The items made by soldiers in the field, prisoners of war, and casualties recovering. The next time I feel like whining about my tiny workshop, I’ll spare a thought for the artisans who crafted some wonderful work in between being shelled.

I have not come across many wooden items while hunting out examples. The trenches of World War I consumed a great deal of timber, and spare stock was probably hard to come by. Some of the most fascinating examples are made of the material that was in abundance. Used shell casings. Browse on through the images below for some of my favourite examples.

Bone and wood model of a British Army fort, 1851 from the UK’s National Army Museum.

A cigarette lighter made in the form of a coffin

Violin made from wood scraps by Americans in a WWII POW camp

In World War II The American Military had large numbers of small machine shops in the field, leading to some very elaborate trench art. This knife had its handle replaced with plexi glass.

British 18-pounder Mark II brass shell case converted into a ‘trench art’ jug with cap badge of Royal Engineers and handle made from two 7.92mm German rifle rounds. The body of the jug is engraved with the battle honours of the 25th Division: ‘OMNIA VINCIT’, ‘TWENTY-FIFTH DIVISION’, ‘PLOEGSTEERT’, ‘VIMY RIDGE’, ‘MAILLY-MAILLET’, ‘THIEPVAL’, ‘OVILLERS’, ‘MOUQUET FARM’, ‘MESSINES’. Marked: ‘18 PR’, ‘II’, ‘26 10 16’, ‘CF’, ‘1916’, ‘GDZ’.

WW1 Hanukkah Lamp crafted from a shell casing.

Shells engraved with the names of two French towns that were destroyed in WW1 and never rebuilt.

French soldiers decorating shell casings