Original British WWI Trench Art Bracelet Lot of 3 With (1) Featured In The Book “Trench Art, An Illustrated History” by Jane Kimball on Page 200 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. 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.

Reference books are an essential part of any collector’s knowledge and growth in their particular field of interest. The 2004 book “Trench Art, An Illustrated History” by Jane Kimball is a comprehensive study of Trench Art and does a wonderful job in presenting the historical context of trench art throughout history. The book covers about 400 pages and includes hundreds of illustrations as well as mountains of primary source material and original photographs that document the evolution, styles and construction of the trench art genre. The one bracelet is found on page 207.

The caption from the page is a lovely description for the bracelet:

“Leather bracelet with an aluminum identification disc engraved with a Middle Eastern scene and Dvr. W.B. House 1916 1917 60578 R. E. (Royal Engineers), C. E. (Church of England) and Mesopotamia Baghdad 1918.”

This is for Driver William Bernard House, Service Number 60578, Royal Engineers. We have not been able to locate much information on him but it does appear that he enlisted in 1915 and states that the theater of war served in was Egypt.

The overall condition is quite nice but the leather however is dried out and near fragile to the touch. The other two bracelets are in similar condition and both also serve as a wrist worn identification disc.

A lovely example ready for further research and display.