Original British WWI Trench Art Cribbage Board Constructed From German Gewehr 98 Buttstock Taken From Battle of Pilkem Ridge Location in 1917 – Third Battle of Ypres Original Items

Trench art is any decorative item made by soldiers, prisoners of war, or civilians where the manufacture is directly linked to armed conflict or its consequences. It offers an insight not only to their feelings and emotions about the war, but also their surroundings and the materials they had available to them.

Not limited to the World Wars, the history of trench art spans conflicts from the Napoleonic Wars to the present day. Although the practice flourished during World War I, the term ‘trench art’ is also used to describe souvenirs manufactured by service personnel during World War II. Some items manufactured by soldiers, prisoners of war or civilians during earlier conflicts have been retrospectively described as trench art.

This piece of trench art was constructed from the buttstock of an Imperial German Gewehr 98. Fortunately, the British soldier or soldiers who made this cribbage board inscribed the date and location of where the rifle was recovered from in aluminum on the end. The tag reads as STOCK FROM GERMAN RIFLE FOUND AT PILKEM RIDGE AUG 1917. The center of the cribbage board also has SOUVENIR OF FLANDERS inscribed on the aluminum board.

The Battle of Pilckem Ridge (31 July – 2 August 1917) was the opening attack of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The British Fifth Army, supported by the Second Army on the southern flank and the French 1reArmée (First Army) on the northern flank, attacked the German 4th Army, which defended the Western Front from Lille northwards to the Ypres Salient in Belgium and on to the North Sea coast. On 31 July, the Anglo-French armies captured Pilckem (Flemish: Pilkem) Ridge and areas on either side, the French attack being a great success. After several weeks of changeable weather, heavy rain fell during the afternoon of 31 July.

The overall condition is quite nice with the only real “issue” is that one of the brass shell casings which are used as legs is missing, a replacement should be easy to source. The game board is still functional and would actually be a wonderful addition to your collections.

Comes more than ready for display.