The conditions were awful, especially when the weather was inclement. Frequently the ‘floor’ of the trench would be a sea of mud. The men would be wet through from rain or drizzle, and in winter they would be freezing cold.
The trenches were infested with rats who lived off the many corpses in the trenches. In doing so they grew to be enormous – in some cases large enough even to attack sleeping men. Lice flourished in the trenches, and despite constant efforts to keep them at bay, inevitably every soldier became infested.
Accounts of the time always describe the awful smell which permeated the trenches – the smell of fear, of rotting human flesh, of sweat and of explosives. Perhaps the worst aspect of the trenches was the human remains left everywhere as a constant reminder that death or terrible injury was always waiting for the unwary or the unlucky.
At any one time a Battalion would be in one of three places - either in the front line or reserve trenches, in billets fairly close to the trenches or ‘at rest’, well behind in a safe area. Tours of duty in the front line would usually last for four days or so before being relieved and retiring to billets.
Days spent in the line were tense but often quiet. Nonetheless a battalion could expect to lose some thirty men a month from shellfire, the activities of snipers or illness. Shellfire was probably the main worry for the infantry.
The British Army did not encourage the construction of dugouts for the private soldiers since it would give an impression of a state of permanence and defensiveness. Their only shelter was usually a hollow cut into the side of the trench at best or a waterproof sheet at worst. Needless to say this left them very exposed during any bombardment and a direct hit on a trench inevitably meant casualties.
The men’s day consisted of ‘stand to’ at dawn whereby all available troops manned the fire step in case of a dawn attack. The rest of the day would be spent cleaning and repairing either the trench itself or equipment, taking sentry duty or resting. After another ‘stand to’ at dusk the night meant joining a wiring party in no-man’s land, out on patrol or firing occasional bursts of rifle or machine gun fire towards the German trenches.
The quieter months were usually during winter but the conditions were miserable, freezing cold and normally wet. The trenches often flooded and with no way of keeping dry the men could spend their entire tour soaked to the skin.
Periods out of the line were not usually restful. Although many Divisions did attempt to keep their men entertained with concert parties and football competitions the days were normally occupied by long route marches or on working parties.
The working party was the bane of the life of a private soldier - the packhorse of the British Army. Although Labour Battalions were formed later in the war most of the manual labouring such as digging, loading and unloading was carried out by the infantry. Alternatively, the Battalion could be involved in manoeuvres or practise attacks on recreated enemy positions marked out with flags and tape.
