Swearing in the Great War

[stuartd]

I was recently re-reading parts of Richard Holmes' book Tommy and he makes reference to a British officer being shocked to overhear an American soldier referring to German soldiers with rather vulgar term which I won't repeat here for fear of a backlash or being banned by the mods. PM me if you really must know! However, it did get me thinking about what swear words were in common usage by British tommies during the Great War. Although I guess swearing was more frowned upon in Edwardian Britain than it is now, I guess they could still turn out a blue word or two. So my question is which words (you may need to use stars!) were commonly used? Currently the vogue seems to be to refer to particularly horrible people as effing w*****s. Did that particularly nasty term of abuse even exist?

[Michelle Young]

I think the f word was pretty common, a veteran once remarked to a friend that the effing guns in the war made him deaf

Michelle

[auchonvillerssomme]

Currently the vogue seems to be to refer to particularly horrible people as effing w*****s. Did that particularly nasty term of abuse even exist?

My dads main claim to fame is that he was, he believes, the first person to use that word on television, during the 1976 fireman's strike on the BBC news.

[squirrel]

Frank Richards DCM,MM in his book "Old Soldiers Never Die" mentions that the young soldiers arriving as replacements later in the war were sometimes pretty foul mouthed - quite a remark for an Old Sweat. Apparently the "F" word was used extensively and far more so than the Old Sweats had apparently been used to using it.

Presumably they swore themselves in Mandarin and Hindustani more than Anglo Saxon.

[bruce]

The British Army appears to have had but one adjective....and it began with "F".

Bruce

[Scalyback]

The F word is useful in the British army!

Just reading Blindfold and alone. One courtmartial, the soldier threatend to kick his Sgt "In the f##king nuts". Under stress you will cuss.

[David B]

In the 21 years I lived with him I never heard my g/father swear but being RSM maybe he wasn't allowed.

[Ron Clifton]

A report of the period of Marlborough's wars:

"Our army swore terribly in Flanders."

Ron

[Scalyback]

In the 21 years I lived with him I never heard my g/father swear but being RSM maybe he wasn't allowed.

Used the quota in work!

I can think of other refrences to swearing. So common, not commented on? Prof Holmes noted the alternative words for 1st post, very easy to remember!

[healdav]

I did once come across a book by a chaplain who printed a letter to a father (some naive guy!) who wanted to be sure his son wasn't getting any bad influences! The chaplain said he had never heard any swearing at all, which suggests that the chaplain was stone deaf.

[NeilEvans]

once read an account from a sergeant, to his Major, saying 'if I'd have known you were still f*ing alive I'd have kept on f*ing fighting.

[Muerrisch]

For a good oversight of what the licentious soldiery said and sang in the war I commend to you

The Long Trail

Brophy and Partridge.

I have a treasured 1965 hardback edition, illustrated. They do flinch from printing the f word and the c word, with which I agree.

[1st AIF]

I recall a couple of ditties -

"We dont give a f**k for old Von Kluck or all his f**king army"

Another favourite of mine. The AIF had five divisions but it was the 3rd Div that didn't get to France until end of 1916. 3 Div had oval colour patches and were nicked name "eggs a cook" after Egyptian egg sellers. To the tune of "the girl i left behind me" was sung

The 1st and 2nd are in the line

The fourth and fifth behind us

But when we look for the eggs a cook

We're f**ked if we can find them

A lot of unit histories insinuate swearing by having adjectives written as a blank line as such; ________ Eg He said, "We gave the _________ boche a hiding that day".

[David Filsell]

Bxxxxxxd was apparently rarely directed at an indidual, since it was a noun with a very specific meaning

I also came across an account in which a soldier was quite who was shocked by an officer's language. He expected it from rankers, bUt not those Better Borne an educated.

[stuartd]

The book 'Her Privates We' also makes reference to the use of effing c***.

[sutton-in-craven]

This is a page from the service file of a pre-war soldier who is listed on the Sutton-in-Craven WW1 war memorial.

It seems that Buglar Fisher became rather intoxicated on the 30th August 1912 in the Portsmouth area and squared up to a policeman. He yelled the following unlawful oscenities to the policeman "You're only a bloody f...ing copper, I will put my f...ing mark on you"!

Prior to this incident plus MANY more, Buglar Fisher had already forfeited his 'Good Conduct Badge' on 28th December 1908. Not sure I'd have wanted to bump into young Evelyn on the streets of Sutton back in his day!

[wainfleet]

An interesting subject if you want the uncensored truth, essential if anyone ever produces an accurate Great War film. I always wondered about this, and have encountered the following during 30+ years of reading:

You f*****g c**t - Hitchcock, Bells of Hell (I think), also hinted at in Graves

You're a sack of s**t - one of the Henry Williamson books?

D*ck for the male sexual organ - think that was in one of the Norman Gladden books where one of the KOYLI are taunting him for being shy in the showers.

B*****ks, f**k off, p**s off, b*gg***d (meaning broken, ruined) - more than one source.

There may be more but that's all I can recall. I haven't seen pr**k, t*at or or f*****d meaning broken, ruined but I would think they were used. I doubt w**k*r was in use - I think it became popular in the 60s.

[Muerrisch]

Is a buglar a posh bugler then?

[stuartd]

W***** seems to date from the 1960s.

[Muerrisch]

W***** seems to date from the 1960s.

Not according to:

Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang, which converges on the 1940s ............

it was in full flow 1948-55 at my boys' Grammar School [it would be!] together with rhyming slang including banker, jodrell, crown and anchor ...............................

Naughty words in schools usually filter down from the higher forms and from older siblings, so 1940s is the LATEST for its popularisation.

Reading the etymology and the wow factor attributed to it, I find myself surprised that it is so high in the scale ........... we bandied the word around in a wryly affectionate manner at times. Those we despised attracted a much higher tariff.

[Frank_East]

W.....first heard it at a non league football match in the 1960s .... season 1966/67,team won the Midland League Championship

As for the anglo saxon utterances...free licence at our all boy Grammar School away from masters....cannot recollect anybody getting lines for restrained usage.But all were gentlemen on the school bus which was public going to school and shared with those attending the Girls High School.

Described as "pit talk" in the West Riding of old.....convention was that not to be used in front of the fair sex.....now the young appear to take delight in its usage before any public.

[Muerrisch]

W.....first heard it at a non league football match in the 1960s .... season 1966/67,team won the Midland League Championship

As for the anglo saxon utterances...free licence at our all boy Grammar School away from masters....cannot recollect anybody getting lines for restrained usage.But all were gentlemen on the school bus which was public going to school and shared with those attending the Girls High School.

Described as "pit talk" in the West Riding of old.....convention was that not to be used in front of the fair sex.....now the young appear to take delight in its usage before any public.

And who do we have to thank? That pillar of free-expression and laissez-faire the BBC.

So now the filth, once "men-only" is emblazoned proudly on clothing as well as spewing out of the mouths of babes and sucklings.

My grandfather and father would have been profoundly, dreadfully shocked.

Apart from anything else, as the consensus is that there are no naughtier words not in common use, where do we turn for a well-turned expletive? The magazine is empty.

Oh! Drat! may have a resurgence.

[John_Hartley]

I've only seen swear words in two diary entries. Or, actually, not used as the writer had self censored his account.

When I first read Lt MacArdle's account of 17/Manchester's attack on 1/7/16, it was a transcript and I assume dthe word had been omitted to protect sensibilities. I was surprised when reading the original diary that the omission was MacArdle's in quoting his fellow officer as "His voice was full of sobs and tears of pain and rage. “Get up you …….s. Blast your souls – get up”.

The other diary example, censored "damned" to read "d....d"

[hazelclark]

I have found this thread quite interesting. I absolutely detest movies where every second word is the F word. Must be be something to do with the fact that I NEVER in my whole life have heard anyone in my family use the word. I have no idea if my children use the word, but certainly not at home. I thought that the F word was an American expression until i started to read about the war, but still didn't really think it was in wider use. Now you tell me a realistic WW! movie requires it!

By the way, I thought the W word was a term of endearment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well sort of!

Hazel

[stuartd]

A veteran called George Littlefair in Last Voices of World War One recalled a sergeant (or was it an officer) calling him a bas***d to which Littlefair responded by punching him in the face.