Poem ~ Bullet Proof Tunic - Wednesday, 28 June - 1916

Source: File: Advert - The Bullet-Proof Jacket. [online] See an original image at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12211605/Daily-Telegraph-June-28-1916.html>[Accessed: 28 June 2016]

A long established company,

Whose origins lay as far back

As 1772, in the making of guns

And weapons; the name

Wilkinson Sword Co Ltd.

Their address of 53 Pall Mall,

London, SW, had a reputation

For keenest blades of combat

Knives - also known

As military outfitters.

In talent for their sharpest blade,

Wilkinson Sword had also made

Developments in the handgun -

The Webley and Scott

Self-loading models.

The evolution of modern warfare

Had not just affected weaponry,

But uniform development -

As in steel helmets

Against shrapnel.

June 1916, an advert appeared,

To claim Wilkinson's new bullet

Proof, khaki jacket for officers -

To make for greater,

Protective efficiency.

In a heading, for tunic's resistance 

Against '455 Government revolver

Bullet, from a 20 yards distance,
This patented tunic

Reduced wounds.

The tunic structure would halt most 

Injuries from shell fire - that if not

Fatal, to leave wearer absent

From duty over

Period of weeks.

The secret was with the lining,

Made of high tempered steel -

Whose distribution of weight,

Would conceal any

Heaviness on wearer.

This bullet proof uniform tunic,

Would be of same appearance

As any other military clothing -

Fitted by an expert

For full comfort.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1916. Advert - The Bullet-Proof Jacket. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 28 June 1916. P.7. Col.4. Available at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12211605/Daily-Telegraph-June-28-1916.html>[Accessed: 28 June 2016].

Source: File: A Brief History of Wilkinson Sword Online. Available at: <http://www.wilkinsonfscollection.com/wilkinsonfscollection.com/Wilkinson_a_brief_history.html> [Accessed 28 June 2016]

Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 28 June 2016). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12211605/Daily-Telegraph-June-28-1916.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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Poem ~ Brodie's Score A Hit - Wednesday, 8 March 1916

Source: File: North Regiment, 1916. They have just been issued with the new steel Brodie Helmet.jpg. [online] See original image available at: <http://www.mylearning.org/the-loyal-north-regiment/images/1-4637/> [Accessed: 8 March 2016]

           

Having undergone thorough tests,

A recent addition to Tommy uniforms

Had proved itself with worthy results.

By singular events, the steel casque

Had previously proved a big ability

To protect the wearer during attacks.

Then came broad applications atop

Soldier’s heads, during the fights

From 2 March, with the Bluff assaults.

A high percentage of injuries from

Previous major actions, had found

Certain wounds in dressing stations.

Fractures to men’s skulls had become

Common, forming dangerous wounds -

Battle of the Bluff saw a drop of cases.

The patented Brodie helmet from 1915

Had seen applications by 1916 action -

Collected field helmets held the proof.

From the dented or rented casques,

The wearer had only suffered scalp

Hits; either concussed or unscathed.

One steel bowl had even encountered

A shave with a shell, another a butt end

Of German rifle, both wearers unhurt.

The man had been able to retaliate,

By bayoneting the foe - others studied

Fiercely struck by shrapnel fragments.

Feedback from men who wore Brodies,

Pitted by bullets, were barely aware

Of hits, apart from sudden compression.

They described the like as shelter under

A tin roof during a hailstorm; if cloth caps

Had been worn such men would be dead.

From trench fighting evidence it could

Not be overstated, how the vulnerability

Of heads proved all metal casques value.

Conjecture evoked that other curiosities

May appear, where practicality dictates

Fashion, to revert to days of pikemen.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1916. Life-Saving Casques - Striking Testimony. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 8 March 1916. P.10. Col.3. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12183691/Daily-Telegraph-March-8-1916.html [Accessed: 8 March 2016].

Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 8 March 2016). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12183691/Daily-Telegraph-March-8-1916.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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Poem ~ Stout Boots for Officers - Monday, 20 December 1915

Source: File: Advert - Harrods Military Boots. peg, [online] Available at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12052424/Daily-Telegraph-December-20-1915.html> Accessed: 20 December 2015].

In kitting out the personal kit

For the officer, were two styles

Of the latest looking solid boots.

By recommendation of top

London Store sellers, Harrods

Of London SW, provided proof.

Countless frontline officers

Had purchased service boots -

Apparently looked to this house.

With reputation and value, along

With high quality, advertised two

Boot types, G.B.704 and G.B.705.

At 63/- the 704 'Canada' Trench

And Transport boot; water and mud

Resistant in black oil dressed hide.

While the extra stout oiled dressed

Hide, 705 Norwegian Ski boot came

In black or brown, being made to order.

Advertised as excellent beyond any

Doubt, for £5.7.6.- any boot could be

Made to order and ready in three days.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1915. Advert - Military Boots. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 20 December. P.3. Col.6-7. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12052424/Daily-Telegraph-December-20-1915.html [Accessed: 20 December 2015].

Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 20 December 2015). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12052424/Daily-Telegraph-December-20-1915.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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Poem ~ 'Save Our Skins' - Saturday, 18 December 1915 - Sunday, 19 December 1915

Source: File: Advert - Selfridge’s Gauntlets. peg, [online] Available at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12052408/Daily-Telegraph-December-18-1915.html> Accessed: 19 December 2015].

From what was a simple innovation

Of the 19th century, of wire lengths

That held regular twists of barbs -

To become frontline war defences.

The use of barbed wire, turned

Onto human livestock, to defend

And prevent enemy advancement;

By injuries inflicted by twists of metal.

Not just to the opposing invader,

But for those men of wiring parties,

Sent to lay out the passive weapon -

Came needs of ways to handle sharps.

In firms that set out to make money

Through war, advanced the Tommy's

Kit - the SOS need came by Selfridges

To 'Save Our Skin' in shape of gauntlets.

The appeal of practicalities for those

Sappers sent out to fix entanglements,

Informed the xmas gift shopper that such

Gauntlets were needed on darkest nights.

Dangers were fingers or hands likely
to be badly torn - safety was advertised

In an image of a gauntleted fist, solidly 

Clasping dangerous spikes of such wire.

For 5/- a pair; protection for a price.

In a depiction of a private funded war;

Reality should been for army gauntlets 
Issues, to all the wire and sapper parties.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1915. Advert - He Needs Protection Against Barbed Wire. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 18 December. P.4. Col.1-3. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12052408/Daily-Telegraph-December-18-1915.html [Accessed: 18 December 2015].

Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 18 December 2015). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12052408/Daily-Telegraph-December-18-1915.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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Poem ~ The Brodie Protector - Monday, 1 November 1915

Source: File: officers wearing new Brodie helmets. jpeg, [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ilwarnews_brodie.jpg> Accessed: 1 November 2015].

Illustrated War News Nov 1915. Original image from "Illustrated War News" - Nov 17 1915 The Text reads : Head-wounds have been more than usually numerous during the war, owing to the trench-fighting, and more than usually severe, owing to the extensive use of shrapnel. But the danger, although it cannot be avoided, can be minimised. Our Army has now followed the French by adopting steel helmets, calculated to stop shell-splinters and shrapnel. Even in cases of extreme risk, not only has death been avoided, but injuries have been confined to bruises or superficial wounds. Cases have occurred in which the wearers have been hit, but saved by these helmets from what without them would have meant certain death. The fur coats, as they did last year, mean mitigation of the rigours of winter. The French helmets are known as "Adrians," after their inventor.

Following trend of French innovation,

Came a new British army fashion -

With certain numbers of soldiers,

Being supplied light steel helmets.

In showing some were more important

Than others - the bomber less ordinary;

Yet ranked under the men of infantry,

In importance of military standpoints.

The new Tommy steel helmet given

To a chosen few - for their protection

Against hits of shrapnel and splinter

Fragments; helmets would save lives.

Initially just for the bombers who take

Special training courses - their value

Being high, in techniques of modern

War, were chosen to test innovation.

The soldierly fashion was described

As comfortable to wear - being lined

By leather, along with a chin strap,

But were still to gain wider approval.

In ignorance of high velocity firearms

War, all sides had gone for a nearly

A year without - in shadows of historical

Conflicts, ignorant of health and safety.

Difficult lessons were slowly learned

At cost of soldiers lives - by wounds

From gun fire, in unknown scales,
vicious injuries inflicted on men's heads.

The German military wore the spiked

'Pickelhaube' constructed from leather -

Decoratively topped by a brass spike -

Meanwhile the French had the Adrian.

The French helmet matched their uniforms,

In style of a fireman - two shells riveted

Together, strengthened by a protector,

Dorsal ridge - set off by a moulded badge.

All armies realised need of good head

Protection – British ideas had formed

In the mind of John Brodie. an engineer –
Not original, made an effective innovation.

The origins had been a medieval Kettle

Helmet design - the strength lay in being

Created from a single sheet of metal -

In its basic form, a bowl with a wide brim.

The Brodie helmet had the advantage

In being made from a single piece

Of stamped steel production - type A

Superseded by type B’s refined design.

In an improved manganese steel form

Impact strength was vastly improved -

So John Brodie built first battle helmet,

Forming an image of the iconic Tommy.

Barely off the drawing board, the helmet

Had not been universally approved amid

British senior officers - mainly because

They had not taken part in developments.

Criticism was theirs to say un-soldierly

And somehow 'soft' - type A saw actions

In battle of Loos - if successful the Brodie

Would be set for increased production.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1915. Helmets for the Troops - Protection for Bombers. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 1 November. P.10. Col.4. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11963590/Daily-Telegraph-November-1-1915.html [Accessed: 1 November 2015].

Source: File: WW1: Combat helmet technology - the Brodie steel helmet

16 June 2014 By Dan Shadrake. [online Available at: <http://eandt.theiet.org/magazine/2014/06/putting-a-lid-on-it.cfm> Accessed 1 November 2015

Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 1 November 2015). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11963590/Daily-Telegraph-November-1-1915.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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Poem ~ Stealing From The Dead - Satuday, 30 October 1915

Source: File: British Military Kit.jpeg [online] see original image at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-one/11006139/Inventories-of-war-soldiers-kit-from-1066-to-2014.html> [30 October 2015].

Crime in war time never once ceased,
As new opportunities to steal goods
Of military kind - as that had occurred
With luggage and kit looting in transit
To England - belonging to officers killed.

Belongings to those who died on duty,

Left France for relatives at home - a sad

Regular journey that was intercepted

By those in trust, that were employed 

By the Great Western Railway service.

In hearing at Marylebone Police court

Stood Richard Quartley a Railway carman,

Aged 32 of Shirland Road, Paddington -

A vanguard, Albert William Allen from

Southam Street Westbourne Park age 17.

They were in league with a licensed

Victualler, Albert Fountain from Bury

St Edmunds’ Market Tavern aged 36.

On arrest admittance came from Allen

That with Quartley they opened kit bags.

The luggage numbered about 20 - they

Took property that had a total value

Of £200 - all items except one, belonged

To officers killed in action - the police

Seized the property held by the three.

Charges were made of theft of field

Glasses, a revolver and items, these

Included; blankets, shoes boots, badges,

Underclothing waterproof coats, rugs,

Leggings, watches, cigarette cases.

Additionally were found binoculars

Cameras, mufflers electric torches,

Razors, prismatic compasses scarves

Clinometers, jewellery, and medals

All taken in disregard and disrespect.

While some articles contained officers

Names, others had names erased - amid

Those affected Mrs Mary Drury from

Knightsbridge - identified  articles found

At the homes of Fountain and Allen.

2nd Lieutenant D'Albany Drew Drury

Was a prisoner of war in Germany his

Mother recognised some stolen items,

In receiving some of his kit from war

Office; a 15-guinea camera was missing.

John Tippet, medical student, confirmed

A rain-proof field coat, with his brothers

Name; Lt. Tippet, 5th Kings Shropshire Light

Infantry, killed 19 August at Armentieres;

A room of such property awaited identity.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1915. Dead Officers Kits - Systematic Loot in Transit. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 29 October. P.14. Col.2. Available at:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11955418/Daily-Telegraph-October-29-1915.html  [Accessed: 30 October 2015].

Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 30 October 2015). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11955418/Daily-Telegraph-October-29-1915.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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Poem ~ Trench Timepieces - Saturday, 18 September 1915

Impression of man's wristlet watch WW1 - by Jamie. See original at:

http://rolexblog.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/we-want-to-be-first-in-field-and-rolex.html

In a common appearance

Of Khaki uniforms, grew

An equally strange sight,

Of soldiers wearing

A watch on the wrist.

With stigmas still attached,

The first such watches,

Of bracelets - with a time

Piece - were purely made

For women; as in 1810.

When the Queen of Naples

Accepted the prototype -

While all men kept their

Timepieces safe in a pocket,

Protected from elements.

A wristwatch trend spread

With war's breakout - seen

To be for convenience -

In an opinion of American

Retail Association debate.

The issue raised, was over

The concept of a watch

Fixed to the wrist being a fad

Or actually a watch - opinion

Varied between members.

Evidence raised in one

Corner believed the wrist

Watch would 'never be

An actual timepiece' - others

Rejected effeminate idea.

The firm of the speaker,

Told how 400 had sold

To the US Government -

For uses by cavalrymen -

Accusations were absurd.

Many names of wristwatch

Wearers, included baseball

Player Christy Mathewson,

Racing driver, Louis Disbrow;

Even Theodore Rosevelt Jnr.

Other wearers pointed out,

Included New York’s Mayor,

And that city's Police

Commissioner - all followed

Trait to wear a watchstrap.

The fad by 1915, had already

Gone on for twenty years -

With fact of Impracticalities,

of pocket watches, in midst

Of battles - as discovered in

Burma war, by British Armies.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1915. The Wrist-Watch. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 18 September. P.12. Col.7. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11869482/Daily-Telegraph-September-18-1915.html [Accessed: 18 September 2015].

Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 18 September 2015). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11869482/Daily-Telegraph-September-18-1915.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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