Soldiers’ Songs and Slang of the Great War

by Pegler, Martin

• ISBN13: 9781472804150
• ISBN10: 1472804155
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2014-09-02
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Summary

Have you ever "gotten dirty at the crossroads" in a "knocking shop"? Or been in a "bun-fight"? Can you sing "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now?", "Bicycle Built for Two" or "Danny Boy"? Soldiers' Songs and Slang of the Great War explains the meaning and origins of the language and songs of WW1.

A bawdy and satiric celebration of cheerful determination in the face of appalling adversity, this book brings forth the sense of humor of the American, Canadian, Australian, and British soldier in the trenches of World War I. Published to coincide with the centenary of the First World War, this collection of rousing marching songs, cheering ditties, evocative sing-alongs, and complete diction of soldiers' slang reveals the best of Allied humor of the period. Wonderfully illustrated with Punch cartoons, posters, and the soldiers' own Wipers' Times, this nostalgic book will not only delight but also give a real sense of daily life amidst the mud and blood of the trenches.

Author Biography

Martin Pegler has a BA Honors in Medieval and Modern History and an MA in Museum Studies, both from University College, London, and was for many years the Senior Curator of Firearms at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds. He now lives in the Somme, France, where he and his wife run a small bed and breakfast, which is situated on top of the old German front line.

Martin has established The Somme Historical Centre (www.martinpegler.com), where visitors can see the technology used in the 1914-18 trench warfare. Martin enjoys shooting historic firearms, and has participated in many shooting competitions. He is currently an author and firearms consultant and he also lectures at local Great War museums. In his spare time Martin runs motorcycle tours of the battlefield. He is the author of a number of books including The Military Sniper since 1914, Firearms in the American West 1700-1900, and the highly acclaimed Out of Nowhere: A History of the Military Sniper, and he has also contributed to a number of magazines. In the 1980s he had the privilege of interviewing many World War I veterans about their wartime experiences, and the recordings are now part of the sound archives of the Imperial War Museum in London. The author lives in Somme, France.