Remembrance Day is Approaching.

 There is a stereotype of the World War I soldier that has become commonplace, that they came back broken, shell shocked husks of the men they once were, forever haunted by the war. I myself have helped perpetuate this stereotype in my writings. However, on the whole, this was a portrait the men themselves denied. They never really saw themselves that way. Throughout the war, these men found ways to survive and keep their humanity and soul intact, and one of the most powerful ways they found was through humour.

Now, here we get a bit back into the dicey ground, because their humour was of the very blackest sort. It lampooned officers and often celebrated malingerers and those who just wanted to survive, and it did not travel well. Many of the armies had their own entertainment and comedy units that traveled around entertaining the troops with their original skits, satirizing life on the front, lampooning the officers. Some of these troops, including the Canadian Dumbbells, continued to travel the country in the years after the war, still entertaining the veterans. More than one outsider, however, attended their shows, and simply didn't get it and wondered why the veterans were dying of laughter.

So, in the coming days as we approach Remembrance Day, along with some musings about the War and what we are trying to Remember, I will be publishing some samples of their humour that has survived down to us, with occasional observations of how and why these are funny, to help those of us who weren't there to 'get it'

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