Digging
The term trench work (also: trench art) refers to a reworked and misused ammunition part. In the trench warfare and trench warfare of the First World War , in particular , many soldiers used waiting times to make souvenirs for relatives at home or useful items from leftover ammunition.
These militaria are coveted collector's items today. For the most part, bullet casings with a caliber of 40 mm or more and cartridges with a diameter of up to 150 mm were reworked into rings, bracelets, pendants, shot glasses, lighters, ashtrays, cigarette boxes, candle holders or even vases . Grenade fragments were also often processed - mainly into knives or letter openers .
British Trench Style : two penny coin lighter; Front and ...
Back (1914); Body made of cartridge metal; Inscription 1914-17
Soldier vase - Memory of Verdun - France 1916
literature
- Matthias Büttner: Thinking about war and military time , in: Markus Evers / Rudolf Holbach (eds.): Thinking backwards. What is left of the experience . Carl Schünemann Verlag, Bremen 2015, pp. 65–76. ISBN 3-95606-180-2 . ( Digitized version )
- Jane A. Kimball: Trench Art of the Great War and Related Souvenirs , in: Trench Art: An Illustrated History , Silverpenny Press, Davis (CA) 2005, pp. 27–32. ISBN 0-9755971-0-8 .
Web links
- The Trench Art Catalog at Trenchart.co.uk (English)