‘You stand in a trench of vile stinking mud,
And the bitter cold wind freezes your blood,
Then the guns open and the flames light the sky
An, as you watch, rats go scuttling by.’
However other sources agree with the images and points put forward in the film. Some sources suggest that the trenches were comfortable and the men were happy to live there, there was a good level of hygiene and the soldiers were enjoying themselves. For example, a photograph taken by an official British photographer possibly after the war showed men thoroughly enjoying themselves, they all had large smiles on their faces and were all very clean. Overall I feel the evidence suggests that the film provides quite an unrealistic picture of the trench conditions. This is because the pieces of evidence that support this view are written for personal purposes of for the purpose of trying to make a point to the government such as a song or a poem. The sources that support the film may have been acted or written by order of the government to explain to Britain that we were having no trouble with the war and the soldiers were coping well.
The way that the film portrays the medical facilities can be supported by some of the sources. The sources suggest that casualties in the camp were low and any injuries were treated well and fast by trained medical nurses. For example, a newspaper article from the 3rd July 1916 stated that, ‘Our (British) casualties have not been heavy.’ Some sources also imply that wounded soldiers were treated for very speedily and were very appreciative of this treatment. For example, a photograph of a wounded soldier was taken when he was being treated with great care by two nurses. He seems to be in no discomfort or pain. However other sources challenge the images put forward in the film. Many sources suggest that there was very little or no medical help or the medics had no real concern for their patients. An example of this is from a picture taken that shows queues and queues of blinded British soldiers due to a German gas attack. The soldiers had been ordered to stand in a line holding the person in front’s shoulders. No medical attention seemed to be there. In addition some sources imply that there was a very poor level of help and the medics were hardly helping the soldiers. For example, a poem written by Wilfred Owen depicted just how poorly treated the soldiers were,
‘Bent double like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots but limped on, blood shot. All went lame and blind. Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots of gas shells dropping softly behind.’ Overall, I feel that the evidence suggests that the film provides quite an unrealistic picture of the medical facilities. However, different sources suggest different things. This is because some sources may be written for different purposes, photographs backing up the film may have been taken by the Government to reassure families that their loved ones were at no danger and were safe and therefore may be slightly unreliable. Poems and songs on the other hand may have been written by poets to express their views and may have contained more truth in their words.