24 Hrs In The Trenches (WW1 Documentary)

Have you ever wondered what life was like for a soldier on the frontlines during the First World War? In this video we explore what a typical 24-hour period of trench warfare was like on the Western Front.

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[pastyman]

My Grandad, born in the 1890's, volunteered to fight in WW1 in a Lancashire Pal's regiment. He fought for 18 months in the Somme, eating nothing but bully (corned) beef and hard tack ( dog biscuits), sometimes sleeping upright in mud and drinking out of muddy puddles, always covered in lice. He fought hand to hand with Germans and hated it but it was either them or him. Him and his pals were so fed up with the food that they drew straws and he drew the short one. He had to stalk the Officer's Mess and steal a cooked chicken. They ate all the evidence and as a serious offence the whole group were punished but nobody ratted on him. A shell exploded next to him and he was seriously wounded. If a doctor had not given him a transfusion from his own arm he would have died. The clean sheets of the field hospital were like heaven after never having had a bath for months. He lived to 89 and died in Lancashire in the mid 70's.

[jmcferran]

I think I have the only WW1 trench bench. What happened is my grandfather, living in Indiana was working for a company that was asked to come up with a portable bench that could be used in the trenches of Europe. They came up with a prototype. That was about 42'" long by 16'' by 18'' heigh. made of metal but the legs could be folded to be about 2" thick. It had thin wood slats to sit on. The prototype was made, then the contract was canceled because the war ended. The company raffled off the bench and my grandfather won it. It was used by my grandmother for years to put laundry baskets on while hanging up the laundry. In time the slats got rotted and in 2000 I replaced the slats and cleaned up the bench. The family always referred to it as 'the trench bench''.

[GeneralGouda]

They’d be pinned down sometimes by snipers, unable to move supplies in. So that means they’d go without food and water for extended periods of time. Not to mention the dead soldiers unable to be moved out properly, rotting. On top of all that, they had to relieve themselves in the trenches because they had no where else to go. They’d have buckets of waste, lining the trenches. It was absolute hell for these guys.

[christiankent]

Watching this a day before Armistice really hits home. Although living memory of WW1 is long gone, we can never forget what these young men and women on both sides sacrificed. I hope they're all resting easy.

[dinardsi]

Thank you for giving me some understanding of what my Great-uncle would have experienced. He served with The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders 1st/6th Battalion) and only survived a year in France, dying when he was only 20 years old. It astounds me when I compare myself and others at 19 or 20 and imagine how we would have been in the same situation.

[RobertBrown-ir]

My grandfather served in the trenches with the Royal Engineers --- your rendering helps me understand his experiences

[austinhampton]

What a great quote. For those who didn’t make it til the end here it is” the war for me was 90% bored stiff 9% frozen stiff and 1% scared stiff.” A survivor of ww1

[yeahnahman]

The common courtesy’s given between soldiers was amazing, you can nearly guarantee at some places a pact was made. “We don’t interrupt breakfast”
we hear of things like Xmas piece, Germans and British playing games of football or cricket together, in Gallipoli the Turks kindly asked the Australians to stop throwing cricket balls around as the Turks thought they were bombs, again at Gallipoli and on many fronts “enemy’s” would exchange photos and letters, in the Australian war memorial there is tobacco that a Turkish soldier traded with an Australian

Respect between men, understanding that the man you are trying kill is in fact another human

[kingwokosalfordlad]

Rest in peace to everyone who never made it home 🌹
Thank you for your service and sacrifice. You will never be forgotten 🌍✌️💙

[northernlight]

My grandfather saw plenty of trenches with the New Brunswick 26th battalion in WW1 in Belgium and France. He was one of the few originals who returned in 1919 after sailing to Europe in June 1915 from Saint John.

[jaywalker]

My grandfather joined up in 1895 as a boy soldier.
He served throughout the war.
He came back a changed man with PTSD and nightmares till the day he died. ...

[jacobrivers]

I read some of the diaries written by German soldiers who were shocked when brown men jumped into their trenches and engaged them in hand to hand fighting. They initially hated the brown men but later came to respect them for their courage. The brown men were in fact Indians fighting in British Army uniforms. 1.3 million Indian soldiers fought bravely in the World War One yet this is never taught in British classrooms or acknowledged on film. My Indian great-grandfather was one of them who fought in Flers-Courcelette in 1916, which resulted in a British victory.

[mollymccray]

Thank you so much for posting this. Means a lot to me!
I’m 21 years old and love history and family genealogy. My paternal great- grandfather Luther Anderson from Ceres, Bland County, VA served in WW1 in France & was in the trenches. I came across a photo of him in his uniform that I had never seen before and got tears in my eyes. I couldn’t imagine what all he went through and witnessed. I believe he was in his early twenties, he suffered from the mustard gas & PTSD. I am beyond blessed to have been his great- granddaughter.
God bless all of these men.
❤️

[DW_Kiwi]

My father was a company runner in the first world war in Belgium. He use to tell me what life was like, . He got a small amount of Gas lurking in a hole running from shell bust hole to shell burst hole to deliver a message. He ended up in hospital because of it. At the time he was only 17 years old. Yes I know, he was under age to join up. Even lied about his state of his sight. Took the test by remembering the chart. He thought it would be a great adventure. In reality from his talks to me I got the impression that it was hell on earth. He had to sleep in water within the trenches and endure the relentless shelling from enemy guns.

[itsgoodforthesoul]

I am so very grateful to have come across this video. My great-grandfather served at hill 60 in the trenches and was a runner for messages on a motorbike behind enemy lines. My great uncle died at the battle of hill 690 in Tunisia.

[smithy]

I was lucky enough to go on a battlefield tour in Flanders in Dec 2023. I was taken to the very place where my grandfather was wounded just outside Messines near Ypres. He was with the Leinster Regiment, 16th Irish Division. It was an incredible, bucket list experience. He recovered from his wound and rejoined his regiment, seeing out the war in Palestine.

[jeningle]

I've just found your channel, and am finding it so interesting and informative. My grandad was there in the Royal Horse Artillery as a driver and farrier, he wouldnt speak of it, just cried big silent tears.xx

[andymapplebeck]

Superb clean, crisp and to the point presentation, thankyou.

[lenny]

Hard to believe I'm 45 and My grandfather was in this war. Boys became men on the fly! God bless them all.

[etherealechoes]

First time on your channel...very good video! Professional, empathic and informative. I thought the demonstration of the layout of the trenches was good, as it can seem complex or simply not explained in other docs. I've studied WWI poetry as part of my first degree in Literature so it's always touched me as well as having relatives who died there. Hard to imagine the life between fear, boredom, lack of sleep and of course imminent death. Bless every one of them.