The document presents several photographs from World War 1 depicting daily life in the trenches for soldiers from various countries. The photos show a British soldier washing in a shell crater, a soldier getting a haircut in the trenches, soldiers from different regiments sitting in a trench with their rifles, Indian soldiers digging a trench, a priest blessing English soldiers, and an officer in a dugout hut reinforced with sandbags. The captions explain that millions of soldiers lived in poor hygiene conditions in the trenches, which became home for long periods as the war lasted over four years. Soldiers faced difficulties from combat as well as the challenging living conditions of trench warfare. Life in the trenches varied between different soldiers from different countries and roles.

1. The Great War

2. You are about to see some pictures of soldiers during WWI.
As you see them, analyze them thinking about the following questions:
What is going on?
What are these people doing?
How are they feeling?
What could be considered an aspect of normal daily life?

3. This photograph shows daily life
on the frontline. A British soldier
is washing in the stagnant water
that has collected in a shell
crater. Millions of soldiers lived
in similar conditions of poor
hygiene.
http://www.bl.uk/collection-items/british-soldier-makes-
toilet#sthash.Jj1Mjjhr.dpuf

4. This photograph shows daily life
in a trench: a soldier is having
his hair cut. At the beginning of
the war, it was thought the
conflict would last just a few
weeks or months.
But quickly it became a war of
attrition, and spanned more
than four years. Trenches, like
this one on the Albanian Front,
became home for the soldiers.
http://www.bl.uk/collection-items/alpine-barber-trenches-
cerna#sthash.8Pqz0mng.dpuf

5. In this photograph we can
see a group of soldiers,
Highlander and Indian
Dogras, sitting in a trench.
Each man has a rifle in front
of him, to which a bayonet
could be fixed for close
combat.
 http://www.bl.uk/collection-items/highlanders-and-dogras-
in-trench#sthash.UiAtPXtE.dpuf

6. In this photograph we can see
Indian soldiers digging a trench,
which is then reinforced with
sandbags and protected by
barbed wire at the front. Over 1.5
million Indian soldiers fought as
volunteers for Great Britain in
the First World War.
 http://www.bl.uk/collection-items/indian-infantry-digging-
trenches#sthash.OzDdCLFP.dpuf

7. In an unrelenting war, religion
played a major role. This
photograph of an Italian priest
blessing English soldiers in the
field demonstrates the
personal devotion of many
troops during World War One.
 http://www.bl.uk/collection-items/italian-priest-communion-
english-soldiers#sthash.FjXyU1jc.dpuf

8. This photograph shows an
officer in his hut, which is
dug into the side of a trench.
The walls are reinforced with
sandbags and hay bales to
protect against shell attacks.
 http://www.bl.uk/collection-items/an-officers-
dugout#sthash.ycnUxDLU.dpuf

9. Now, after seeing the pictures, read the article by Paul Cornish and
answer the following questions:
What was the reality of daily life in the trenches?
What difficulties did soldiers face in the trenches?
Was life the same for all? Explain.

10. Now, after seeing the pictures, read the article by Paul Cornish and
answer the following questions:
What was the reality of daily life in the trenches?
What difficulties did soldiers face in the trenches?
Was life the same for all? Explain.