[Mike]

Hi Everyone,
I was just wondering if any one could please help me out with my search for conditions for the soldiers in the trenches. My task it to pretend that I am a soldier writing home from the trenches and I need to use that kind of language that was used to describe conditions during that time for example "trench foot".
I'm new at this help form, and any help or advised would be appreciated.

Thanks
Mike

[MrJohnDClare]

For loads of information just put:
"Life in the trenches"
into google and follow the links.

This site will give you some ideas about things to say - http://www.bbc.co.uk...warone/soldier/
with more info in this one - http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/movies


This source seems very useful - http://www.greatwardifferent.com/Great_War/Everyday_Life

and this is a standard account of life in the trenches - http://www.firstworldwar.com/trenchlife


Best of all, this site gives you some actual letters sent by actual soldiers! http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwo...oldiers_stories
and this is a good example from an individual soldier - http://www.iwm.org.uk/upload/package/45/Fa...lient/index.htm

Finally, for a general site with some good links, try http://www.johndclare.net/wwi1.htm


As for how to organise your letter, what about writing it in four sections:
1. daily routine
2. nasty conditions
3. the different ways soldiers die
4. shell shock


THE BIG PROBLEM you are going to face is that hardly any soldiers wrote home saying what the trenches were really like. They didn;t want to distress their families. So they wrote home bland, cheerful letters about how they were very comfortable in their 'little wet home in a trench'.

SO, if you write a lifelike letter, you will get no marks, because your teacher will say that you haven't put in all the facts about life in the trenches. But if you write the 'letter' your teacher wants, full of the gruesome facts, you will be writing a letter that would never in fact have been written at the time and is completely UN-realistic.
SOLUTION? Some soldiers were more honest with the dads than their mums. Write to your father, and start off with a paragraoh which explains that your letters to your mum have been cheerful because ... , ut you are going to share the truth with him???

[Amhall]

MrJohnDClare, on Sep 30 2007, 08:16 AM, said:

As for how to organise your letter, what about writing it in four sections:
1. daily routine
2. nasty conditions
3. the different ways soldiers die
4. shell shock

Please take no offense, but I was just wondering why it is that with most of the responces I have seen given about the conditions of trenches include a suggestion of daily routine, nasty conditions, the different ways they died, and shell shock. It just seems a bit redundant if you ask me. When someone is asking for information, I, personally, find that giving them a suggestion that may or may not have much to do with the assignment, but is still quite specific, is rather annoying. I honestly am not trying to insult anyone, but I find the repetition to be a bit strange and am curious to know why this is occurring.

[Mr Field]

The person who asked this question was after guidance about what to put in their letter from the trenches. You are complaining that all the responses to similar questions are similar. The problem is that people keep asking the same questions and we then do our best to assist. I agree with you that it would be much better if users searched for the answers without posting new questions. Yet when they do, as you can see above, Mr JDC has gone to great lengths to support this student.

There is nothing to be curious or concerned about - if you think about it, when you study what life was like in the trenches you do need to cover the key aspects - i.e. those that you mention! If you have further concerns, do start a new post in the discussion section of the forum, but please don't put the efforts of teachers down. Every teacher who supports this forum does so out of their own time and without any payment at all. We're just trying to help!

[MrJohnDClare]

Thank you for your contribution, which I am happy to address.

Amhall, on Oct 29 2007, 08:43 PM, said:

most of the responces I have seen given about the conditions of trenches include a suggestion of daily routine, nasty conditions, the different ways they died, and shell shock.

Surely 'most of the responses' is a hyperbole?
As far as I can find by using the forum search, there were only two responses which did this.
If you put "World War One" into the forum search (click on the blue lettering on the yellow banner head) you will see that the teachers on this forum have given DOZENS of different responses to lots of diffent questions on World War One.
And if you put "Conditions in the trenches" into the site search, it yields three threads, NONE of which give the four suggestions you have mentioned!

Quote

It just seems a bit redundant if you ask me. When someone is asking for information, I, personally, find that giving them a suggestion that may or may not have much to do with the assignment, but is still quite specific, is rather annoying.

I am sorry but this is just an incorrect statement.

This advice was given to two questions on the forum. There was nothing 'redundant' about the answer given, which was given to answer two questions, both of which were from students who professed to not have much idea of how they wanted to do their question, and were asking for general help..

The first, on 1 September 2007, asked: "To what extent were the soldiers in the Great War affected by life in the Trenches?". (I directed them to a number of relevant sites.) But the correspondent then went on to say: "But I have no idea where to start and what to include! Please can someone get back to me with a template"
Suggesting four section titles for his essay was absolutely appropriate.

The second, on 29 Sept 2007 from 'Mike', asked: "could any one could please help me out with my search for conditions for the soldiers in the trenches". (My reply gave lots of specific information about writing a letter - which was his specific assignment). However, Mike then added: "any help or advise would be appreciated". So I then suggested the four paragraphs as a possible way to structure his letter. Surely this falls absolutely into the "any help or advice" bracket? Did not my answer give him all the advice he needed to do his task?

Quote

I honestly am not trying to insult anyone, but I find the repetition to be a bit strange and am curious to know why this is occurring.

The reason the same advice occurred twice was that I answered both questions.
The reason I gave the same advice twice was because the two questions asked much the same thing in much the same way, and it is not confusing at all that they should have warranted the same answer.

When you come to think about it, I have done 1081 posts on this forum, and Mr Field has done 1272, so it would a bit of a miracle if we didn't repeat ourself from time to time!

If you have any other ideas - such as something else they could have written about - then students or teachers are welcome to add a post on which says: 'And by the way could could also do a paragraph on...'.

[Flyingredd]

When I did this I included mentions of what happened at home, for example I compared friendships breaking up to some cheap glass my fictious mother brought and I also asked for some soap etc.

If it is kept informal then it will sound more realistic. Take Inspiration from reAl letters but dramatize it using the points johndeclare (?) mentioned.

P. S I know you have probably done the letter by now but a lot of people do these letters

Written on my iphone