Gem From The Archive

Samuel Bartle from the East Riding Archives shares a poignant souvenir from the trenches of the Western Front

Cartoons from the Western Front, c1916–1918

November is the time to remember the end of the First World War – and the approximately 886,000 British military personnel killed in the conflict. Among its collections, East Riding Archives has a uniquely personal memento of one of these men, Lieutenant Edward Moore Robson – a set of cartoons he drew on the Western Front. As archivist Samuel Bartle explains, they shed new light on the experiences of soldiers in the trenches.

Who Was Lieutenant Edward Moore Robson?

Edward Moore Robson was born in Pocklington, East Yorkshire, in 1890. During his service in the First World War he was awarded the Military Cross for bravery at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. He served with the 5th Battalion of Alexandra, Princess of Wales’ Own (Yorkshire Regiment), also known as the ‘Green Howards’, from 1915 but sadly he was killed in April 1918, just a few months before the war’s end.

The story of the Robson family’s experience of the war is blighted by tragedy: his father, Thomas Robson, was a distinguished solicitor, and had already lost his wife Eva in 1914, before two of his sons, Richard and Frederick, were killed in action within two days of each other in March 1918.

The news of Edward’s death around a month later must have proved too much for Thomas to bear, as he retired shortly afterwards and left Pocklington after being a pillar of the community there for over 25 years.

Can You Describe The Cartoons?

They depict Army officers, some of whom were presumably characters based on real-life individuals known to Lieutenant Robson. He drew them while on active service, and quite probably worked on them when stationed on the frontline. They are of such incredibly good quality that they wouldn’t look out of place in a comic book.

Altogether, there are 13 illustrations that have survived into the archive collection, and many of them are annotated with humorous captions that appear to have been injokes for the benefit of fellow soldiers. Some of the cartoons seem to be poking fun at military strategy, while others take a look at mock sporting activities and show situations such as an emaciated mule or horse poised ready for a racing event. Much of the humour appears to have a strong tone of irony about it.

The collection was deposited by a descendant of the Robsons back in 2005, so the cartoons were part of a larger family collection and located among a handful of other First World War-related items such as a regimental Christmas card, a trench map of Martinpuich (near Arras), an operation order from a commander, and a ‘visitors’ book’ in which soldiers left sarcastic comments about their ‘stay’ in the trench. I would assume that these were items collected and sent home to the family following Edward’s death. Some may have been found on his person, although I think it’s more likely that they were left in his quarters when he ‘went over the top’.

Why Did You Decide To Highlight Them?

I love the humour of these images, which is very specific

‘The British soldier somehow found amusement amidst the awful carnage of the war’

to the British soldier and the way in which he somehow managed to find amusement amidst the awful and unimaginable carnage of the First World War. These cartoons have a peculiar charm, which I think is owed to the striking contrast they provide with our stereotyped concept of the wartime

experience during this conflict. I was amazed when I saw them in our archives, because it was the first time I had encountered humour associated with frontline soldiers in the war.

What Do They Tell Us $ ERXW 7KH &RQÁLFW"

The story of the First World War is often portrayed, quite justly and accurately, as one of abysmal death and tragedy on a scale hitherto unseen. However, these cartoons are evidence that soldiers also found ways of maintaining their humanity during the most inhumane of situations, and I think that’s a very important point to remember. They remind us that through all of that killing, destruction, disease and injury, people were still trying to behave normally, probably in order to preserve their sanity.

Much of what we perceive of the human experience in the trenches is based around oral testimony, letters to loved ones back home, and of course war poetry, but these drawings give us a vivid confirmation that, however scarce and fleeting it may have been, fun and humour still existed on the frontline. It’s a remarkable fact that we should all be aware of when considering the life of a First World War soldier and the efforts made to boost morale.

What Other Documents Are In Your Collections?

We have more than 400,000 items in the East Riding Archives, ranging from the 12th century to the present day, and covering all kinds of themes, including law and order, education, land and property, taxation, business, transport and people – all of them preserved for research, learning, and enjoyment by present and future generations.