Trenches: A picture worth a thousand words....

[buellmeister]

The sometimes mundane life of living in the earthworks.....

[buellmeister]

The Naval Units....

[Chris Liontas]

My contribution. You rarely seem to find a photo of a chaplain in the trench (so to speak). I was able to grab this photo last month off of German Ebay. It is named to a Catholic (by the cross) Divisionpfarrer Dr Eller (Gller or Eller I cant tell) No date or unit number yet, but I have not checked my records.

Edited June 7, 2007 by Chris Liontas

[buellmeister]

Chris, that picture is a rare find indeed. Thank you for your contribution.

Regards,

Joel

[buellmeister]

Gents,

Let's give this thread a little life shall we? I've got a few trench pictures that have just reached my mailbox in which I'll add later today. In the meantime, if there is anyone who has a picture or two they'd like to add, please post away!

Regards,

Joel

Edited June 20, 2008 by buellmeister

[coldstream]

One from my collection, a posed shot I believe and needs a translation of the inscription.

[Guest Rick Research]

"In the first (i.e. foremost) trenches"

[Chip]

I really like this one. Can you guess why? It has nothing to do with the uniforms or the early gas masks. It's the trench. It's a special one.

Edited June 22, 2008 by Chip

[buellmeister]

Coldstream, fantasic addition! Thanks for posting it. I just bought a new scanner and lets give this thing a whirl.

[buellmeister]

Chip, you have a little mixture of Marine and Landlubber troops.

Regards,

Joel

[buellmeister]

Guys, Another new arrival.

[Chip]

Joel,

Those are actually See Bataillon troops (Marines) and a Matrosen (sailor) infantry man. The interesting thing is the location.

Edited June 22, 2008 by Chip

[Guest Rick Research]

Location? What location? I don' see no location!

But are they not wearing the VERY first "hankies pressed over your face" anti-gas equipment up on their left collarbones?

[Chip]

OK, I thought someone would pick up on the fact that this trench is occupied by marines and sailor and therefore have a guess as to where it is. Here is the full card. Now, what do you think?

[Chip]

OK, the photo is the end of the line the other end being on the Swiss border. That's the ocean in the background. The card says on the back,

[Bernd]

Chip

In translation:

The first section of the whole front in the west (Flanders)

[buellmeister]

Gents,

I'm happy to report that after a bit of a long overdue hiatus from trench picture purchasing, that this little postcard has just flown in and happy to give you all a "look-see." Though a little fuzzy with it being an "action shot", I think this one could have a few stories to tell.

I was tryting to find the original thread I had started in regards to posting German Trench photos and I believe it to have been removed..

Regards,

Joel

[Guest Rick Research]

Naw, here it is:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=15989&hl=Dombras

I closed that one to resume from scratch here.

The fierce Skeletor effect is rather diminished by the guy in back grinning with no mask on ! :cheeky:

[buellmeister]

Rick,

Thank you for finding the old thread. I see your point of the lone unmasked fellow throwing off the whole image that was being portrayed... LOL! I love the Haubes in the wire...

Joel

[Brian Wolfe]

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to share this postcard with you as it shows one of those unplanned moments that always happens when you are on camera.

The first image is of the postcard itself. I purchased it to go with my communicatiions collection even though when I bought it I was sure the wiring party was going out to string barbed wire and not communications wire. When it arrived on the back is printed,

"Every British trench is its own post office, with telephone and telegraph wires. A wiring Party is here going forward to its special work."

So this is indeed a communications related photo.

Regards

Brian

[Brian Wolfe]

Here is that moment I was speaking about.

The soldier in the front of the column has just had the rifle sling slip off his shoulder and the fellow to his left seems to find this rather funny. What struck me as funny is that just at the very moment when a photo that would become an official photograph in the Daily Mail, and probably seen by thousands, was taken the rifle slipped from his shoulder. Sorry no "do-overs" guys!

Cheers

Brian

[leigh kitchen]

The man with the screw pickets & the slippery rifle - is that an additional foreign bayonet he has dangling by the entrenching tool? And is that a water bottle on his right hip? One of those double spouted French - type ones?

[Brian Wolfe]

The man with the screw pickets & the slippery rifle - is that an additional foreign bayonet he has dangling by the entrenching tool? And is that a water bottle on his right hip? One of those double spouted French - type ones?

Upon closer examination the bayonet looks like one of the German "Butcher" Bayonets; also the scabbard is too wide to be the standard British WWI issue. The water bottle on his right hip looks different from the standard British issue as well. Good eye Leigh.

Regads

Brian

[Chris Boonzaier]

Just found this great old Trench Photo thread... Does anyone have anything new?

[turtle]

This thread is just great!!! here´s my contribution, unfortunately no information available.