Trench Art
 

I paid a visit to the local antique mall yesterday and was surprised to see one booth with a large collection of trench art. The shells were dated 1917 and 1918 and prices were about $120 per item and up. Anybody seen such a large quantity of items for sale or are these items much more common in Europe than here? I am curious about the back story.
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Trench Art?
 

Hi Bob I have an interest in and not a small number of casings and trench art. My friend has over one hundred and fifty different WW1 37 mm casings and trench art. Along with many different 18 pounders. Those Southwork items were purchased as an estate and originally in Freelton where they wasted away at double the normal price. When moved to their present location we snapped up a couple of reasonable items and the rest gather dust. The situation there is referred to by another vendor as "expensive storage"'

Does anyone think the troops in the trenches had any time to make decorations with used casings? They were busy getting shelled and patrolling and taking part as cannon fodder in poorly planned mass attacks against entrenched 08's and 08-15's.
Most of what is seen as trench art was turned out on French and Belgium factories for sale to returning veterans on the mass tours of the 30's.

Cheers Peter S

"Trench art"
 

Quite common in Europe. If they were all made in the trenches they must have been just sitting and twiddling their thumbs, which they certainly did not as we all know.

Is it possible that......
 

....such trench art was done in behind the lines in rehab areas.....either R&R or recovering from various conditions.....surely some of the intricate work would have had to be done in a rehab shop with some tools...... they did not have PTSD in those days......

I remember local individuals that were made fun of at the "pool Hall" where people would slam doors and watch some old guy make a run for the underside of the pool table...... one guy had his lower jaw shoot off rescuing an officer..... could not eat so he drank..... whenever he got thrown out of the local sawdust tavern called "La Berta" (officially the Alberta tavern) the cops would call his benefactor ( officer) in Ottawa to pick him up......

My grandfather and his brother ( Francis and Delphis) and the Big Larabie (Irish) were policemen in Hull....all over 6'4" and around 250....... they would respond to local tavern disputes on foot....clean out the patrons and 30 minutes later business would resume.

Everybody were friends ....hardly anyone was ever arrested.

You reminded me of the archetype cop of yesteryear. Bigger than the next guy. Bare knuckles skilled. Peace enforcer. Not necessarily the sharpest knife in the drawer, but guaranteed to the locals within the limits of foolishness.

Hull always had a tough reputation. VC winner Filip Konowal killed a man in an argument in Hull and was sent to hospital instead of to prison.