A. D. Nineteen Fifty

Cartoon by Captain Bruce Bairnsfather, originally published in The Bystander magazine on 29 September 1915 and subsequently issued as part of his Fragments from France, and, as here, in postcard form. The picture shows two veteran Tommies with Methuselah-like beards, still manning the trenches thirty five years later, as a flurry of shells continue to fly overhead. The cartoon is a wry comment by Bairnsfather on the interminable stalemate of the conflict which many thought would be over by Christmas in 1914. Reading a newspaper, one remarks to the other, "I see the War Babies Battalion is a coming out." The original cartoon was entitled A. A. 19.. (?) whereas this postcard version offers 1950 as the precise year in the future

Amusing Bairnsfather Beards Bombs Bystander Experience Experienced Fifty Fragments Methuselah Neverending Nineteen Overhead Shells Stalemate Tommies

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