Charlie Elwess What were conditions like on the Western Front for troops?
Ever since the end of the First World War ended it has been common knowledge that life in the trenches was, perhaps, the nearest a person could get to a living hell. Though many facts about the reality of the trenches were shrouded by propaganda and letter censorship at the time.
When the trenches were first dug the weather was warm and the earth was dry and easy to work with and no one could imagine what they were about to turn into in the coming years. While they were on duty in front line trenches the troops actually were not doing much for 60% of the time, though it is certainly a common misconception that the men were constantly going over the top and engaging in hand-to-hand combat. Sometimes they may never see any of the enemy men for long periods of time causing such boredom that men started diaries, journals and even correspondence classes. This was not illegal as it was in the Second World War when it was feared that letters or secret information may have been intercepted by the enemy.
