Today is the centennial of World War I’s Armistice. At 11a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month 1918, leaders representing the Allied Forces and Germany declared a cease fire and an (uneasy) end to the “War to End All Wars”. Known at the time as The Great War, WWI was filled with physical and psychological horror and destruction. But surprisingly, there were also glimmers of hope, beauty, and humanity during this ugly time.
I’ve been passively researching World War I for several years now, but it wasn’t until this year (which conveniently coincided with the centennial) that I needed to become more serious about my research because several historical projects fell into my lap. What I was pleasantly surprised to find were the ways people found to not only survive, but thrive during war time – and how they gave comfort and joy to those around them. Those seemingly little things built morale and reminded them of their indomitable spirit. Below are a few of those comfort-and-joys I came across this year, though I know there are many, many more. I invite you to share your own examples in the comments section below.
1. COMFORT KITS
CARE packages weren’t developed until after World War II, but “Comfort Kits” were sent during World War I. As this article from the July 7, 1917 edition of the Daily Gate City and Constitution – Democrat suggests, ladies should send their “Sammies”: hand scrub, a cake of soap in a celluloid case, strong handkerchiefs, a card of safety pins, a card of pearl buttons for their underwear, a box of chewing gum, hard candy that won’t get sticky in hot weather, and other practical items.
You can read the entire list and article here: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87057262/1917-07-07/ed-1/seq-4/
2. WOOL BRIGADES
In that same article, soldiers fighting at the front said one of the things they would like most from home was woolen socks because “doing duty in the trenches is like living in a cellar”. So women (and some men and children) did their patriotic duty by “knitting their bit”. At home, at work, on public transportation, their clicking knitting needles created sweater vests, scarves, wristlets, stump socks for amputees, mittens with a separate trigger finger area, and more. The Wool Brigade took the Red Cross’s charge to “knit for Sammie!” very seriously.
You can see original examples and instructions here: Delineator knitting pattern
For a well documented, detailed article on knitting for victory, check out Paula Becker’s essay: http://www.historylink.org/File/5721
This article from the Daily Mail includes some interesting photos of knitting culture: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4753594/Fascinating-photos-Wool-Brigades-World-War-One.html
3. RECORD DRIVES
Listening to pre-recorded music for comfort certainly isn’t a modern concept. In fact, at the time, some Americans considered music “the fourth essential” in helping to win the war. Thus, the “Slacker Record Week” campaign was formed. From October 26 – November 2, 1918, the National Phonograph Records Recruiting Corps encouraged civilians to donate phonographs, needles, and records to the troops. In a New York Times article, honorary committee chairman Major Gen. J. Frankline Bell said about the campaign, “Music has established itself as one of the important adjuncts in stimulating morale.” Music not only helped morale, but also it helped treat some cases of shell shock.
What music might they have listened to? Maybe war-themed “Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning” by Irving Berlin or “Hello Central! Give Me No Man’s Land” by Al Jolson. Or maybe some of that hot new music called jazz.
You can read the full New York Times piece here: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/09/29/109330352.pdf
And a longer article about the record drive here:
https://www.fold3.com/page/642791571-phonograph-record-drive/stories
4. NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR WOMAN’S SERVICE
Besides the Red Cross and Salvation Army, women could express their “Constructive Patriotism” through volunteering with the National League of Woman’s Service (yes, womAn’s not womEn’s). Created in 1917, the organization encouraged women to serve their country by playing up their natural aptitudes, by “becoming more efficient and more earnest in the everyday work they are doing now”. They also did work they weren’t doing previously. Some women trained to take over positions vacated when male workers left to join the military, jobs such as driving motor vehicles, teaching Army Signaling, and running elevators. Other women offered more stereotypically feminine services such as hospitality at military clubs and canteens, canning fruits and vegetables, organizing Christmas Carnivals for fatherless chldren, and knitting their bits. During one patriotic campaign, women donated their kid gloves so that the leather could be repurposed into vests and jackets for servicemen.
You can read more first-hand accounts about what the NLWS was doing here in their annual report from 1918: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015065622246;view=1up;seq=3
5. CINEMA STARS
For Charlie Chaplin, war could still be a laughing matter. Ridiculing the enemy for comic effect was part of his specific patriotic duty as a morale booster. In 1918’s SHOULDER ARMS, Chaplin played a bumbling private in The Awkward Squad who dreams heroically big while fighting in The Great War.
That year, Chaplin also funded and starred in the short propaganda film THE BOND, which encouraged audiences to buy Liberty Bonds. You can see THE BOND in its entirety here, with the Liberty Bond segment occurring around 8 minutes in: https://archive.org/details/CC_1918_09_29_TheBond
Chaplin and his fellow actors Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford (who shortly thereafter formed United Artists together) took their show on the road to sell Liberty Bonds. This video gives a taste of that experience and includes some rare Chaplin footage:
These are just a few examples of the comfort-and-joy that combatted the horrors of The Great War. In future blogs, I’ll include others, but I am also interested in seeing what YOUR research has revealed. Please share it in the comments below.
ADDITIONAL SOURCES:
Library of Congress’ actual Armistice doc: https://www.loc.gov/law/help/us-treaties/bevans/m-ust000002-0009.pdf
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87057262/1917-07-07/ed-1/seq-4/
Our boys need sox – knit your bit American Red Cross. United States, None. [N.y.: american lithographic co., between 1914 and 1918] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/00652152/.
The Delineator V.91 1917, Nov 1917, page 37: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=iau.31858046092270;view=1up;seq=331
https://music.si.edu/spotlight/music-anniversaries-in-2018/1918-100-years-ago
http://www.washingtonhistory.org/research/whc/milestones/aftersuffrage/minutewomen/nlws/