[Soldiers in trench surveying the battlefield]

Depicts two French soldiers standing in a trench and relatively at ease. The bearded soldier in the backbround is smoking a pipe with his hands at his sides. He is looking over the top of the trench, and his rifle (the reputedly unwieldy 8mm 'Lebel') is lying against the wall of the trench. Next to the rifle in a hole in the trench wall, is a box with the word 'GRENAD' [grenade] written on it. The soldier in the foreground is leaning against the wall of the trench and propping himself up with his elbows. He is peering through a set of binoculars whilst standing on the tips of his toes with his legs crossed. He is probably looking at the enemy through one of the holes in the three sniper screens that are depicted. The scene is peaceful, and one gets the impression that it may be depicting the soldiers before hostilities commence. This is because neither seem to concerned about gunfire or exposing their heads to the enemy. Because one of the soldiers is bearded, it is likely that these soldiers are 'pioneers' - those who dug the trenches.

Sketchbook belonging to Paul Prangère. Found on the WWI battlefields in France by Private Charles Edward Goldspink M.M., 17 Infantry Battallion. Depicts life in the trenches during the first two costly battles of Champagne. The first battle took place between 10 December 1914 - 17 March 1915 and 90,000 French were injured. The second battle occurred between 22 September 1915 - 6 October 1915. It probably does not depict the thrid battle of Champagne (16 - 20 April 1917) because Prangere states the date of creation as being 1916. Many of the illustrations are of a jovial and gentle life in dugouts. The second half of the sketchbook portrays the soldier on leave with his wife or girlfriend after being injured. Despite the grim nature of life in the trenches, the artist largely portrays a lyrical existence, with his simple and humourous illustrative style anticipating Hergé's Tintin (which was first published in 1929).