Letter from a soldier in a trench in France, March Write a letter home to a member of your family. It could be your mother/father/sister/brother/loved one. Explain where you are in France Explain about what was unpleasant in the trenches Explain what was good about life in the trenches. Describe an episode when you went over the top of the trench. Describe your feelings before and after. A Letter from the Trenches

Trenches easily became waterlogged – men were often standing in water, which led to a painful swelling of the toes called “Trenchfoot.” This was an infection caused by cold, wet and filthy conditions. In the trenches men stood for hours on end in waterlogged trenches without being able to remove wet socks and boots. The feet would gradually go numb and the skin would turn purple. Many men had their feet amputated due to “Trenchfoot” Problem 1 – Trenches were waterlogged in winter.

Problem 2 – Rats Rats were also a huge problem. They lived in the trenches and sometimes grew as big as cats. “The rats were huge. Two or three rats could always be found on a dead body. They usually went for the eyes first and then burrowed their way right into the corpse.” “I saw some rats running under the dead men’s coats, enormous rats, fat with human flesh. My heart pounded a s we edged towards one of the bodies. His helmet rolled off. The man displayed a grimacing face, stripped of flesh; the skull bare, the eyes devoured and from the yawning mouth, leapt a rat.” What soldiers had to say:

The very noise of the shells exploding gave many men shell-shock. This was how a young soldier from Wiltshire was affected: “His steel hat was at the back of his head and his mouth slobbered and two comrades could not hold him still. These badly shell- shocked boys clawed their mouths ceaselessly. Others sat in hospitals in a state of coma, as though dead and actually dumb. The trench was very cold and wet in winter. But it could be baking hot in the summer.” Show clip from All Quiet – when Germans are being bombarded Problem 3 – Shellshock

Men could only bath or shower about every two weeks when in the trenches. The soldiers often had itchy body lice, which left blotchy red bite marks all over the body. They also created a sour stale smell. Apart from causing scratching, they also carried disease – trench fever. Problem 4 – Lice and Trench Fever

Despite the constant dangers of trench life, the daytime was mostly very boring. Some soldiers tried to sleep. Others just sat around reading, or smoking or playing cards. There were also many routine jobs to do, such as filling sandbags, cleaning latrines and fetching supplies. Problem 5 - Boredom

Problem 6- Food and Rations Men were given a hot meal once a day only. Each soldier had their own rations every day, but there was no variety. The bulk of the diet was usually bully beef, bread and biscuits. Occasionally they would get meat, but this frequently was horsemeat. By 1916, flour was being made with dried ground turnips. The battalions kitchen staff had just two large vats in which everything was prepared. As a result, everything the men ate tasted of something else. Tea frequently tasted of vegetables. Often water was given to soldiers in petrol cans, which gave the drink an unusual and unpleasant flavour. Corned Beef(1 lb) Bread or Biscuits(1.25 lb) Bacon(4oz) Tea(1/2 ounce) Sugar(2oz) Jam(2oz) Cheese(1oz) Butter(3/4 ounce) Potatoes(12 oz) Salt(1oz) Pepper(1/36 oz) Mustard1/20 oz)

A soldier would always fear being hit or killed by a gun or a grenade, being shot by a sniper or blown up by a shell. His biggest fear however was when he was required to go over the top of the trench, when there would be a very good chance he would never return. Problem 7 – Danger Watch clip of “Regeneration” “At noon we went over the top. After less than a hundred yards we ran up against an almost concrete wall of whistling and whining machine-gun bullets. My company commander had his face shot away; another man yelling and whimpering held his hands to his belly and through his fingers, his stomach protruded. A young man cried for his mother…”

Occasionally life in a trench became too much – and a soldier committed suicide – either by shooting himself or putting his head above the parapet.