Trench art is any decorative item made by soldiers, prisoners of war, or civilians where the manufacture is directly linked to armed conflict or its consequences. It offers an insight not only to a soldier’s feelings and emotions about the war, but also the surroundings and the materials available to them.
Not limited to the World Wars, the history of trench art spans conflicts from the Napoleonic Wars to the present day. Although the practice flourished during the First World War, the term ‘trench art’ is also used to describe souvenirs manufactured by service personnel during the Second World War.
Coined during the First World War, the phrase “trench art” refers to the tradition of amateur craftsmen making objects “out of things that would otherwise be considered just the wastes of war.”
American revolutionary war prisoners built ship models out of meat bones; American civil war soldiers carved talismans from lead bullets. By the First World War, brass gun cartridges were being recycled into durable trinkets, and the Second World War brought materials like plexiglass and aluminum, mostly used in airplanes. Because of these technological advances, objects cobbled together were more inclined to last.
Infantrymen engaged in fighting were the least likely combatants to make or keep trench art; as they were too busy “staying alive.” As for sailors on ships, soldiers at camps, and prisoners of war, idle hands and plentiful materials likely triggered the itch to create.
Shown at left is a “trench art” ashtray comprising a brass base from an artillery shell and perforated pedestal upon which a cartridge rests, as seen in the CSS Museum.