GB 0099 KCLMA MISC 69 - Misc: World War One trench newspapers, 1916

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0099 KCLMA MISC 69

Title

Misc: World War One trench newspapers, 1916

Date(s)

  • 1916 (Creation)

Level of description

Extent and medium

1 file

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

The Wipers Times was first produced in Feb 1916 in Ypres, Belgium. Apart from occasional gaps when some of the larger battles of the Western Front were being fought, it ran until Dec 1918. Except for the final number, the paper was never printed out of the front area and at one time the printing press was within 700 yards of the front line and above ground. The founder and editor of the paper was Capt F J Roberts, 12 Bn Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regt), 24 Div, British Armies in France. On 4 Sep 1914 24 Div was concentrated between St Pol and Etaple and for the remainder of the war it served on the Western Front in France and Belgium. Shortly after the Battle of Loos, Sep 1915, 24 Div moved to the Ypres Salient, where the Wipers Times was founded. From 1916 to 1918, the Wipers Times incorporated the New Church Times, the Kemmel Times, the Somme Times, the BEF Times, and the Better Times, each of which consisted of lampoons and reflections, poems and 'advertisements' satirising the military and political situation of World War One

Archival history

GB 0099 KCLMA MISC 69 1916 Collection (fonds) 1 file The New Church Times and The Kemmel Times, 1916.
The Wipers Times was first produced in Feb 1916 in Ypres, Belgium. Apart from occasional gaps when some of the larger battles of the Western Front were being fought, it ran until Dec 1918. Except for the final number, the paper was never printed out of the front area and at one time the printing press was within 700 yards of the front line and above ground. The founder and editor of the paper was Capt F J Roberts, 12 Bn Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regt), 24 Div, British Armies in France. On 4 Sep 1914 24 Div was concentrated between St Pol and Etaple and for the remainder of the war it served on the Western Front in France and Belgium. Shortly after the Battle of Loos, Sep 1915, 24 Div moved to the Ypres Salient, where the Wipers Times was founded. From 1916 to 1918, the Wipers Times incorporated the New Church Times, the Kemmel Times, the Somme Times, the BEF Times, and the Better Times, each of which consisted of lampoons and reflections, poems and 'advertisements' satirising the military and political situation of World War One

Presented to the Centre in 1998 by Mr John Carpenter via Dr Andrew Lambert, Department of War Studies, King's College London

Facsimiles of four editions of World War One Western Front trench newspapers, The New Church Times and The Kemmel Times, each of which was incorporated within The Wipers Times, 8 May-3 Jul 1916. While the names of many of the contributors have not survived, the chronicles they presented in the newspaper detail vividly the war conditions on the Western Front. Articles were often spontaneous, preserving the jargon, slang, character, and conversation of the soldiers' surroundings. Although the reader is confronted with all the stark images of the Western Front, these are masked with a humourous irony which demonstrated the spirit of comradeship that prevailed in the British Army

Open, subject to signature of reader's undertaking form

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, attention of the Director of Archive Services
English

Summary guide entry on-line at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/top.htm, and available in hard copy in the Centre's reading room.

Date of compilation: Nov 1999 Armed forces Belgium British Army Communication process Essays Etaples Europe France International conflicts International relations Literary forms and genres Literature Loos Military engineering Military operations Military organizations Newspapers Organizations Other ranks Periodicals Persuasion Poetry Propaganda Prose Publications State security St Pol War Warfare War propaganda Western Europe World War One (1914-1918) World wars (events) Ypres Communications media Wars (events) Information sciences

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Presented to the Centre in 1998 by Mr John Carpenter via Dr Andrew Lambert, Department of War Studies, King's College London

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Facsimiles of four editions of World War One Western Front trench newspapers, The New Church Times and The Kemmel Times, each of which was incorporated within The Wipers Times, 8 May-3 Jul 1916. While the names of many of the contributors have not survived, the chronicles they presented in the newspaper detail vividly the war conditions on the Western Front. Articles were often spontaneous, preserving the jargon, slang, character, and conversation of the soldiers' surroundings. Although the reader is confronted with all the stark images of the Western Front, these are masked with a humourous irony which demonstrated the spirit of comradeship that prevailed in the British Army

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Open, subject to signature of reader's undertaking form

Conditions governing reproduction

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, attention of the Director of Archive Services

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Summary guide entry on-line at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/top.htm, and available in hard copy in the Centre's reading room.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Publication note

Notes area

Note

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area