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 : The long and short of it


The long and short of it

Satire on the downside to being either tall or short~~~~Caption: Up last draft: I suppose you as to be careful ow you looks over the parapet about ere Out since Mons: You needn't worry me lad, the rats are going to be your only trouble'~~~~Bruce Bairnsfather loved to contrast the world-weary, hardened old hand who had been Out since Mons with the naive raw recruit. But his joke does stress two perennial problems for trench inhabitants- the danger from snipers (for those who either dared to look over the sandbags, or were unfortunate enough to be tall), and the constant battle with the hoards of impudent rats, encouraged by unburied bodies and discarded food

Picture No
10582883
Media ID
46694508
Size
3610px x 5636px (4.0MB)
Credit
(c) Illustrated London News/Mary Evans
Source
Illustration by Bruce Bairnsfather in The Bystander', 30 August 1916
Date
1916

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Bairnsfather Downside Hardened Parapet Rats Recruit Recruits Sandbags Sniper Snipers Veterans


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