Time spent out of the line at least offered the opportunity for the frontline soldier to get clean. Communal baths would be set up and lice-infested clothing steam-cleaned. The chance to be clean was another essential prop to morale.
British soldiers splashing in the water at Corfu. Image: Imperial War Museums
Soldiers in a farm pond near St. Eloi, Flanders, 1917. Image: Imperial War Museums
Enthusiastic splashing in the sea at Etaples, France, 1917. Image: Imperial War Museums
British troops in the River Tigris, Baghdad, 1917. Image: Imperial War Museums
Piggyback wading (location unspecified) Image: Imperial War Museums
Patients from a convalescent hospital playing in the sea, France, 1918. Image: Imperial War Museums
British soldiers playing with a ball in the water at Corfu. Image: Imperial War Museums
Members of an army entertainment troop posing after a swim in the Sea of Marmora, Turkey. Image: Imperial War Museums
Soldiers smile for the camera during a swim in the Somme region, France, 1916. Image: Imperial War Museums
…and immediately afterwards splash each other. Image: Imperial War Museums
Romanian soldiers in a pond in the Balkans. Image: Imperial War Museums
