The Problem of Lice

Lice are a very small wingless insect that feeds on the blood of humans and animals. They are usually found in hair and clothing of humans. They lay their eggs in the seams of clothing or near the base of hair roots. Lice will lay eggs in places where body heat will cause them to hatch such as head and armpits. Lice are also responsible for the transmission of disease.

The problem of lice during the war was a major concern. Lice emerged in massive proportions as the men were unable to wash or change clothing on a regular basis for weeks on end. Going hunting for lice became a daily chore for the men that would take close to an hour. Several methods were used to attempt to eliminate the creatures. Some men would dig them out with the edge of their thumbnail. Once rooted out they would pop the lice between their fingers splattering little bits of blood on themselves.

Another popular way to eliminate lice was to run a candle along the seams of your clothing. The lice liked to lay their eggs in these areas. The heat from the candle would pop them as you moved along the seam.

One night, as we lay in bed after doing our two hours' sentry - we did two hours on and two hours off - my friend Jock said 'damn this, I cannot stand it any longer!' He took off his tunic - we slept in these - then he took off his jersey, then his shirt. He put his shirt in the middle of the dug-out floor and put his jersey and tunic on again. As we sat up in bed watching the shirt he had taken off and put it on the floor it actually lifted; it was swarming with lice.
Interview
Henry Gregory

Lice were responsible for the outbreak of trench fever, which caused a five-day fever. With the fever, severe headaches and pain in the legs and back occur. It takes over a month to recover from the fever, but once you have been infected, you can easily catch the disease again.

Trench fever remains among us today. In homeless people that live in
similar conditions to the trenches of World War One, trench fever still breaks out. Most recently, a number of homeless people in Seattle were reported with trench fever. They live in damp conditions along the coast and outside for most of the year. These were the same conditions as in the trenches.

Food At the Front

Food was a very important factor in the daily lives of men fighting at the front. Unfortunately, supplying food to the men was a major problem during the war. Soldiers in all armies received the bulk of the food a country was able to produce. This meant that the civilians back home suffered to a larger extent and were put under rationing. Rationing meant that each person was allowed only a certain amount of food per month.

In theory, the British army was to supply its men the following rations per day. The reality of the fighting and the length of time the war was fought forced these rations to never truly be met:
425g Meat (Bully beef - a type of corned beef)
563g Bread (Biscuits)
113g Bacon
14g Tea
56g Sugar
56g Jam
28g Cheese
21g Butter
340g Potatoes
28g Salt
.7g Pepper
1.4g Mustard

The biscuits are so hard that you had to put them on a firm surface and smash them with a stone or something. I've held one in my hand and hit the sharp corner of a brick wall and only hurt my hand. Sometimes we soaked the smashed fragments in water for several days. Then we would heat and drain, pour condensed milk over a dishful of the stuff and get it down.
Letter Home
Private Pressey

Cooking in the trenches was very difficult so most food was eaten cold. If cooking did occur, it was done in one pot. Usually the men would create a stew by throwing all food items into the pot then dividing up the resulting mixture equally. Once the meal was prepared, the men would brew up their tea in the same pot. This gave the tea the same flavor as the stew.

In training the food was just about eatable but in France we were starving.All we lived on was tea and dog biscuits. If we got meat once a week we were lucky, but imagine trying to eat standing in a trench full of water with the smell of dead bodies nearby.
Memoirs
Richard Beasley

As the war dragged on, even the British were forced to reduce the amount of food each individual solder received. By late in the war, soldiers only received meat nine out of thirty days in a month. Officers were not treated the same as the men at the front. In many cases the superior officers ate extremely well compared to the front line soldiers. Hill told me the story. The Colonel and Adjutant were sitting down to a meat pie when Hill arrived. Henry said: "Come to report, sir. Ourselves and about ninety men of all companies."

They looked up. "So you have survived, have you?" the Colonel said. "Well all the rest are dead. I suppose Mr. Choate had better command what's left of 'A'. The bombing officer (he had not gone over, but remained at headquarters) will command what's left of 'B'. Mr. Henry goes to 'C' Company. Mr. Hill to 'D'. Let me know where to find you if you are needed. Good night."

Not having being offered a piece of meat pie or a drink of whisky, they saluted and went miserably out. The Adjutant called them back, Mr. Hill, Mr. Henry."

Hill said he expected a change of mind as to the propriety with which hospitality could be offered by a regular Colonel and Adjutant to a temporary second lieutenant in distress. But it was only: "Mr. Hill, Mr.Henry, I saw some men in the trench just now with their shoulder-straps unbuttoned. See that this does not occur in future."

Personal report: After the loss of bulk of the men and officers during an attack in which only three junior officers remain.
Robert Graves