Remembrance, continued.

 

In and Out (I)

That last half hour before "going in" to the same trenches for the 200th time.

In and Out (II)

That first half hour after "coming out" of those same trenches.

This is one of the more poignant of Bairnsfather's comics. But, as always, the popularity of the strips was based not just one their humour but because they were relatable. They were real. The soldier felt they knew the characters in his strip, and knew what it was to be in the situations he drew. Bairnsfather began as one of them, and he never forgot what it was like. These pictures capture what the soldiers felt to be going in and out of the trenches.

Going in and out was a part of the war. The troops were not simply sent into the trenches to fight until they died. The troops were rotated through the trenches regularly. The trenches, it should be remembered, were laid out as a series more or less parallel lines, to provide a defense in depth. The rotation would begin with the men being put into the third trench line- the line farthest back, where there was relative safety- for a week. Then they would be rotated into the second trench- a little more dangerous- for a week. Then they would spend a week in the first line of trenches, the one most subject to enemy fire, to artillery, to raids. After that, the men would be rotated into the back for a week of relative rest and quiet, where they had some entertainment and the comfort of the estaminets that were popular during the war. Then the process would start again. As Bairnsfather shows, that last half hour before going in must have been sheer agony.