Shared Experience: Service

Art and War

• Introduction
• Battle
• Work
• Leisure
• Service
• Casualties
• Captivity
• Home
• Artists

Service covers preparation and waiting rather than actual fighting. Servicemen and women endured medical examinations that could be embarrassing, even humiliating, although sometimes merely humorous experiences. The common aspects of military life are covered: the tedium and boredom of military life reflected in undertaking repetitive tasks, like peeling potatoes, or physical training in inclement weather. The movement of troops, and transportation of equipment and stores, often meant waiting on cold and draughty railway platforms or living at isolated military encampments.