24hr Trench : A Day in the Life of a Frontline Tommy

Title; Author's Note; Acknowledgements; Contents; Foreword by Peter Hart; A World Entrenched; The Typical Soldier; Trench Kit; The Trenches in Action; Cooking in the Trenches; Building the Trench; The 'Real' 24 Hours; 24hr Trench; Glossary of Trench Terminology; Further Reading; About the Photographer; Copyright. During the Great War millions of men were consigned to a life of 'mud, blood and bullets', eking out their daily existence in a line of trenches that stretched across the Western Front. These earth dug-outs were their kitchens, their bathrooms and their bedrooms. Days were often a boring routine, peppered with artillery fire and action. It is almost impossible for us to really understand what it was like to live in such a confined space everyday with the constant terror of enemy bombardment and attack. Now, a group of soldiers recreate the trench experience using official war records and personal diaries, answering the questions: How did they go to the loo? How did they wash their clothes? How clean can you really get from washing out of a mess tin? How easy is it to sleep in a trench? What did you do to keep yourself entertained? And much more... Following them from constructing the trench to living in it for 24 hours, Andy Robertshaw brings together his deep knowledge of the First World War with the frontline experience of serving members of the army to recreate trench life for the first time. Hour-by-hour, the soldiers' lives are detailed in text and a combination of colour photographs and contemporary images, as well as quotes from the frontline and interviews with those who took part in this innovative and groundbreaking experiment. To truly understand what trench life was like, read 24hr Trench. Andy Robertshaw was the lead historical consultant on Steven Spielberg's War Horse and briefly starred in the film as an officer. He is a museum curator, military historian, author and broadcaster. He has written numerous books and is a subject matter expert for the army for whom he lectures, gives presentations at Staff College and runs battlefield studies. He has appeared as expert and presenter in a large number of television documentaries including The Trench Detectives, Time Team and Finding the Fallen. He is director of The Battlefield Partnerships and is working on a series of international media and archaeological projects: http://www.battlefieldpartnerships.co.uk The trench was the frontline Tommy's home. He lived, ate, slept, and sometimes died in this narrow passage amongst the slime of mud and blood on the Western Front. His washbasin was a mess-tin, his cooker – a small fire built into the wall, his entertainment – his friends, his fear – the man living in the trench on the other side of No Man's Land. Over 6 million men died whilst serving in the trenches – how did they live in them? For the first time, World War I historian Andrew Robertshaw and a group of soldiers, archaeologists and historians use official manuals and diaries to build a real trench system and live in it for 24 hours, recreating the frontline Tommy's daily existence, answering the questions: How do you build a trench quietly? How clean can you really get in a trench? How easy is it to sleep? How do you keep yourself entertained? How to do you stay alive and kill the enemy? And many more... Hour-by-hour, the Tommy's day unfolds through stunning colour photographs in this ground-breaking experiment in Great War history. During the Great War millions of men lived in the trenches of the Western Frotn. It is difficult for us to understand how they coped in such a confined space with the constant terror of enemy attack. Now, Andy Robertshaw and a group of soldiers, archaeologists and historians use official manuals and diaries to recreate their daily lives.