Past Talks
Trench Humour in the First World War
Date: 18th November 2024
Speaker: Stephen Barker
Stephen Barker presented a talk which aimed to give an alternative view of WW1; explain why humour was important to the soldiers; understand the social background to the humour and find out about the views of those living at the time.
The soldiers’ humour was influenced by the music hall humour of the Victorian period and mocked everything, even death. It was unlike modern humour and much was lost on those outside the soldiers’ groups. I Don’t Want to be a Soldier and Far, Far from Ypres are just two examples of songs popular among the fighting men.
As the number of soldiers grew, so did the public’s negative view of those who did not join up. August 1914 saw the establishment of the Order of the White Feather: a propaganda campaign to shame men into joining the military. In the same month, Kitchener launched the country’s largest recruitment drive with his ‘Your Country Needs YOU’ poster campaign.
The British army was smaller than its opponents, so considered to be the underdog.
One of the main influences on the soldiers’ humour was the cartoons of Captain Bruce Bairnsfather and his creation ‘Old Bill’. It was considered to be a major morale booster for the British troops.
Concert parties were an integral part of the war effort, and starting after the Battle of the Somme, virtually every division had at least one by 1917. They mirrored the Pierrot troupes of music halls and seaside resorts, offering soldiers a respite from war and reminding them of home. Unsurprisingly, all the roles were played by men, foremost among them being Pte. William Threlfall, better known as ‘Queenie’.
Trench newspapers and journals began to circulate, differing from the official military newspapers in that they were produced within the ranks. They contained prose, poetry, letters and jokes. Amongst the most well-known were The Whizz Bang and The Wipers Times.
Senior officers encouraged their men to sing whilst on the march. These would often be quite bawdy versions of well-known songs, which family back home may well have found unsuitable. General Haig would have been in agreement with the latter as the morality of the men under his command was of great concern to him.
British troops were not alone in using humour to ameliorate the horrors of war. Along with our men, the Germans and French also engaged in the mocking of cultural stereotypes and generally poking fun at the enemy.
Although the guns fell silent on 11th November 1918, peace was not officially proclaimed until 28th June 1919. To mark the final end of the war, Saturday 19th July 1919 was designated a public holiday and peace celebrations took place throughout the country. However, returning soldiers found no ‘homes fit for heroes’ and that they were excluded from many Peace Day events. For example, in Coventry rioting broke out when former soldiers and factory workers, vital to the war effort, were omitted from the Godiva procession.
Thereafter, annual events were a source of celebration for former military personnel. Over time, bereaved families felt this to be inappropriate and the day evolved into the Remembrance Day we continue to commemorate.