Thread by @garius

I took this picture in the (mostly) unexplored tunnel network beneath the Western Front back in 2019.

I love it, because it really highlights that there is very little difference between the average teenager in 1915 and a teenager today.

Not all Tommies were sad dreamy poets 😆

You would also not believe the amount of scribbled cocks and hairy balls you find scrawled on the walls down there. They're everywhere.

They tend not to the shine the lights on those bits in the tours you can do of open tunnel sections, or in museums mockups.

Can't imagine why!

You find more poignant stuff down there as well. These are places soldiers paused, sometimes just for a moment, before attacking German trenches.

They knew they might die. So they just wanted to leave a sign they were there. Like this kid, from 14 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh.

But seriously, most of the kids on the western front, like most teenage boys, were keener anatomists than poets.

Some of whom were better trench artists than others. Jim here had talent.

Then of course you've got the Canadians. Who are just fucking show-offs.

(To be fair, this was in a rest area so they had more time on their hands).

Seriously though. Fucking stop it Canada. Just draw or carve cocks and hairy balls on the walls of the tunnels like every other WW1 soldier.

You're showing everyone else up.

FOR GOD SAKE CANADA. JUST CARVE NAKED WOMEN ALREADY LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. WHY ARE YOU ALL SO SENSIBLE AND RIDICULOUSLY TALENTED.

Even the women they scrawled on the walls were clothed.

(There's a serious point behind this, of course, about the relative age and backgrounds of soldiers serving on the front across different nationalities. But still)

Outside of the rest areas, of course, things are always more rushed though. As above, it's always a mix of rudeness, a desire to leave a personal mark in some way (ahead of possible death) and the odd bayonet-scratched prayer.

These were men aware of their proximity to death.

You also see stuff in the tunnels and spaces down there that isn't immediately obvious as special, but absolutely is if you know the context.

The Canadian Timber Wolf Battalion being a prime example.

But honestly, you'd be surprised how heavily the walls are covered in scrawlings and scratchings down there. Often floor to ceiling in the larger spaces used for rest and bunking (note the nails still in the wall from bunks).

You also see things like this, although this was the most intricately carved I saw.

It's a letterbox for last letters. You stick yours in there before going on patrol or out into the line and take it out when you return.

Any left unclaimed are posted by whoever did make it back

And once you're back IN those tunnels towards the line, out of direct view of your officers, sometimes you can't help but wonder if maybe the whole fucking system is wrong.

You're still prepared to do your bit. But that doesn't stop you being angry about it.

Or, if you've got a bit more time, maybe you just leave a super-sarcastic comment about how the generals keep telling you the war is nearly done.

Or maybe you just scrawl something to remind you of normality and a more pleasant world, to take your mind off the sound of the guns above and the men packed into the tunnel around you waiting to charge up and out into the German lines.

But mostly, like hundreds if not thousands of others, you just quickly scrawl your name on the tunnel wall, turn to face forward...

...and wait for the barrage to stop and the whistles to sound.

SIDEBAR: One of the reasons the tunnels that a lot of these specific photos were taken in aren't open to the general public is because they are still full of things that are somewhat spikey and explodey.

That's a shame, but it's ALSO why they're so well preserved.

UXE is still an issue down there. If you kick something suspicious and heavy, you just have to stick it quickly in a bucket of water. Or ideally step back and let someone more experienced deal with it.

No point getting fussed about it. It's not like you can dive to safety. As the Royal Engineer I was down there with said:

"If something explodes, create a large crater, throw yourself 20m into the air, and disperse yourself over a 40m radius. It's what I'll be doing." 👍😆 /END

More tunnelling stuff for you.