Wednesday, October 22, 2008

YPRES Museum

above is a Belgian officer's cap, with the horsehide covering the helmet, and the long horsetail plume. Very flashy!

The horses were not used for cavalry tactics, but were put to use to carry shells. Thousands of horses died here of stupid things, like stepping on nails from blown apart boxes, and getting infections.
Above is a piece of trench art. These were often made by bored soldiers who were recuperating in field hospitals, as part of their physical therapy. The little tank is made from shell casings and the tracks are made from "drive bands" from exploded shells. The solder was melted out of the joints of tin cans, and the trail wheels are made from uniform buttons. Usually trench art is not quite so elaborate.

2 comments:

Jennifer said...

I just read all 3 posts together so I could get the whole picture with some cohesiveness. Wow. That is an ungodly number of men who gave their lives. I remember your original post you did on this, and I was moved then and still am. The pics of those water-filled craters in the middle of mud fields really puts things into perspective.

These are beautiful pictures... it is amazing to see the differences between the "then" and "now" shots.

I have not heard of the movie, and I wonder if it's being released in America. If not I will try to get the video when it comes out.

STAG said...

I think I will be picking up a few CD's and sending them to my friends. You are on the list.