Living in No Man's Land During the First World War

[The Scorer]

This is hopefully a link to an article published by The Smithsonian Museum giving details of the deserters who allegedly lived in No Man's Land during the First World War. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/legends-what-actually-lived-no-mans-land-between-world-war-i-trenches-180952513/

 

It all sounds pretty far fetched to me ... does anyone have any views, please? Thank you.

[ss002d6252]

Load of rubbish in my opinion.

 

Craig

[MBrockway]

See Paul Fussell The Great War and Modern Memory pp.123-124 where he details the widespread 'Legend of the Wild Deserters'..

 

Fussell is clear that the stories represent fictional accounts functioning as 'trench legends' with a strong element of myth.

 

Fussell references several accounts used in the Smithsonian article, but also this from H Tomlinson

 

Quote

Once  ...  the Salvage Company had put out, as a trap, a basket containing food, tobacco, and a bottle of whisky.  But the following morning they found the bait untouched, and a note on the basket, "Nothing doing!"

H.M. Tomlinson Waiting For Daylight (1922), pp.180-181

 

Mark

Oh , and Fussell is a far better writer than the journalist who wrote this article!

[Black Maria]

Boyd's 'Salute of Guns' mentions the many British deserters hiding in High Wood, who were living off what they could take from the many dead bodies that lay around.

[roel22]

The Australian mini-series Anzacs (1985, with Paul Hogan) had an episode with deserters having some sort of their own kingdom in no man's land.

 

Roel

[MBrockway]

If we'd been there then, wouldn't we have told each other such stories to pass the long winter nights?

[TEW]

Subject has come up before, see this thread.  There should be other threads which I can't find. I have a hospital report on a man who claimed to have been taken POW 1/7/16 but escaped during allied barrage. His story was that he made it to a quarry and lived there with a German deserter for almost a year. May not even have been in No Man's Land and as he was treated for amnesia, originally he had no idea who he was, why he was in France -etc. Possibly a good ploy to tell the MPs.

TEW