06-01-2017, 10:55 AM
913
Re: The Pages of Punch
1918: Understatement
A humorous remark made at the beginning of his leave. The military establishment realised that it was important to allow soldiers occasional leave from the front line. This enabled men to rehabilitate themselves. Nine days leave really allowed a man to renew his energy for the battles to come.
09-01-2017, 10:44 AM
916
Re: The Pages of Punch
1918: Laughing at Profiteers
The term ‘profiteer’ first appeared in the pages of Punch during the 1914-1918 conflict. It continued to appear in 20s and 30s. It was aimed at people who had become rich quite suddenly during the war having supplied the Government with things needed for the conduct of the war. Businesses need to make a profit – otherwise they would be bankrupt. The implication of this name was they were profiting from the nation’s ‘noble’ cause. Should these firms have bankrupted themselves as an act of patriotism?
Upper middle class people resented it when ‘the lower orders’ seemed suddenly to be richer than their ‘betters.’ There were frequent jokes about the new rich proletarians saying silly things. This cartoon shows the establishment customers silently despising this stupid woman who is suddenly rich. Of course they won’t say anything but it is clear what they are thinking. The fishmonger doesn’t seem to understand why this silly woman is asking the question. The other well-heeled customers know exactly why.
10-01-2017, 10:34 AM
917
Re: The Pages of Punch
1918: Scraping the barrel
At the start of the war medical officers were fastidious when inspecting potential recruits – many were rejected as unfit. By 1918 the need for ever more men meant that many fairly unfit men were taken into the army. This particular man’s height would pose various difficulties in drill, marching and trench warfare but the MO could no longer afford to be too scrupulous.
12-01-2017, 10:46 AM
919
Re: The Pages of Punch
1918: War without end…
We are shown a typical World War One scene. A couple of Tommies are chatting in their trench obviously in France. It is only the much older one who had done something before taking up soldiering. Even then his experience was related to the war. This is one of several cartoons in 1918 which anticipate an extremely long war – perhaps lasting forever. This reflects a deep mood of pessimism about the many ‘final’ pushes which proved to be anything but final. Some of the old soldiers found it difficult to take in at first when the end really did come about.
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