The Wipers Times

THE FAMOUS FIRST WORLD WAR TRENCH NEWSPAPER INTRODUCTION BY CHRISTOPHER WESTHORP

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A Conway Book Š Conway Publishing 2013 First published 1916-1918 This edition first published in Great Britain in 2013 by Conway A Division of Anova Books Ltd 10 Southcombe Street London W14 0RA www.anovabooks.com www.conwaypublishing.com Twitter: @conwaybooks Distributed in the US and Canada by Sterling Publishing Co. Ltd 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 100016-8810 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781844862337 Printed by WS Bookwell OY, Finland To receive regular email updates on forthcoming Conway titles, email conway@anovabooks.com with Conway Update in the subject field.

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CONTENTS Introduction by Christopher Westhorp.iv WIPERS TIMES NO. 1 VOL.1............... 12 February 1916.............................................. 001 WIPERS TIMES NO. 2 VOL.1............... 26 February 1916............................................. 013 WIPERS TIMES NO. 3 VOL.1............... 6 March 1916.................................................... 025 WIPERS TIMES NO. 4 VOL.1............... 20 March 1916.................................................. 037 NEW CHURCH TIMES NO. 1 Vol.1......... 17 April 1916................................................... 051 NEW CHURCH TIMES NO. 2 Vol.1......... 8 May 1916....................................................... 061 NEW CHURCH TIMES NO. 3 Vol.1......... 22 May 1916..................................................... 073 NEW CHURCH TIMES NO. 4 Vol.1......... 29 May 1916..................................................... 085 KEMMEL TIMES NO. 1 VOL. 1.............. 3 July 1916.......................................................101 SOMME TIMES NO.1 VOL. 1................. 31 July 1916..................................................... 113 B.E.F. TIMES NO. 1 VOL. 1................. 1 December 1916............................................... 125 B.E.F. TIMES NO. 2 VOL. 1................ 25 December 1916..............................................137 B.E.F. TIMES NO. 3 VOL. 1................. 20 January 1917................................................153 B.E.F. TIMES NO. 4 VOL. 1................ 5 March 1917.................................................... 169 B.E.F. TIMES NO. 5 VOL. 1................ 10 April 1917................................................... 185 B.E.F. TIMES NO. 1 VOL. 2................ 15 August 1917................................................. 201 B.E.F. TIMES NO. 2 VOL. 2................ 8 Sepetember 1917............................................ 217 B.E.F. TIMES NO. 3 VOL. 2................ 1 November 1917................................................ 233 B.E.F. TIMES NO. 4 VOL. 2................ 25 December 1917............................................. 249 B.E.F. TIMES NO. 5 VOL. 2................ 22 January 1918............................................... 269 B.E.F. TIMES NO. 6 VOL. 2................ 26 February 1918............................................. 285 BETTER TIMES NO. 1 VOL. 1.............. November 1918.................................................. 301 BETTER TIMES NO. 2 VOL. 1.............. December 1918...................................................317

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INTRODUCTION

I

n mid-February 1916 a minor rumble rippling through Ypres in the British-held sector of western Flanders might not have been due

The editor was Captain (later Lieutenant Colonel) F.J. ‘Fred’ Roberts, serving with the 12th Battalion Sherwood Foresters attached to the 24th Division,

to an enemy barrage but the sound of the first copies of a soldierproduced trench newspaper rolling off the presses. The publication, named the Wipers Times (monoglot British soldiers had rechristened the unpronounceable Ypres as ‘Wipers’), was a remarkable feat because the city was at the heart of sustained AngloGerman fighting for the duration of the war and there were significant wartime restrictions in force (as well as limited y and e letters to typeset the pages). Sometimes, particularly in 1917 when the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) raged, the work took place under incessant artillery bombardment. The wry debut editorial set the tone for what its readers could expect: ‘Having managed to pick up a printing outfit (slightly soiled) at a reasonable price, we have decided to produce a paper. There is much that we would like to say in it, but the shadow of censorship enveloping us causes us to refer to the war, which we hear is taking place in Europe, in a cautious manner.’

and his sub-editor was Lieutenant (later Major) J.H. ‘Jack’ Pearson. Their hope, they declared, was to publish weekly ‘but should our effort come to an untimely end by any adverse criticism or attentions by our local rival, Messrs. Hun and Co., we shall consider it an unfriendly act, and take steps accordingly’. Only four editions were ever issued under the original title before it was incorporated in April 1916 into the New Church Times, having been produced near Neuve Eglise, which was to ‘preach the gospel of cheeriness and hope’. Four editions later, as the unit moved around again, it morphed into the short-lived Kemmel Times and Somme Times (one edition each in July 1916), before the longestsurviving journal of all, the B.E.F. Times, which managed 11 editions. The last two papers were issued in November and December 1918, fittingly titled Better Times. However, all 23 papers are commonly referred to as the Wipers Times. In addition to the Wipers Times there were many other sanctioned but less well known ‘trench publications’ by other units and battalions.

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INTRODUCTION A HERITAGE OF IRREVERENT HUMOUR As any publisher can attest, success is usually built on an appreciation of what the audience wants. What Roberts identified and was able to satisfy among the men in the trenches, who were exposed constantly to the stress and fear of mutilation or death, was the cathartic power of comedy – especially that which poked fun subversively at the status quo and the powers that be. In so doing Roberts created a pastiche that drew upon a vibrant British tradition of humorous and satirical literature, which could be traced from the 1720s onwards with the prints of Hogarth and continued later with the political caricatures and cartoons of Gillray and Cruikshank. Improvements in technology then enabled cartoonist magazines such as the weekly Punch to take off and thrive, popularizing the art form and broadening the targets to be satirized.

Roberts’s audience of fellow combatants was a socially more mixed one that was shaped into a community by experiences of endurance in horrific circumstances. Contrary, perhaps, to what many might have supposed, these doughty readers

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sustained their spirit not in stirring stories of valour by fellow warriors but in tension-defusing humour in all its forms. The Victorian ideal of the stoic Briton with the stiff upper lip was a real type, and one from which many men did indeed get inspiration, but there was also a typically British counterweight in the form of the belief that no one should ever take themselves too seriously.

Pomposity was to be ridiculed. That morale in the British Army generally remained upbeat and the will of ordinary soldiers unbroken throughout the war suggests these cultural values proved useful.

Most readers of Private Eye and online sources of satire such as ‘The Onion’ or ‘The Daily Mash’ would recognize the editorial formula of the Wipers Times. A mixture of countless jokes based on mock theatre programmes, regular contributor characters (‘The Padre’), comic journalist pseudonyms (Belary Helloc), amusing ditties, diaries (one is by Lieut. Samuel Pepys) and columns (‘Agony Column: For Sale, cheap. Desirable Residence. Climate warm, fine view. Splendid links close by, good shooting. Terms moderate. Owner going abroad.—Apply Feddup, Gordon Farm, nr Wipers.’), spoof adverts (‘Also

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INTRODUCTION our new Combination Respirator and Mouth Organ. The dulcet tones of the Mouth Organ will brighten even the worst Gas Attack.’), a send-up serial

of war, and know it for the vilest disaster that can befall mankind.’ Furthermore, unlike the many memoirs by survivors that appeared after the war, with reflections

(with Herlock Shomes), humorous correspondence to the Editor and limerick completion competitions (won by the editor and sub-editor).

However, affirming the exclusivity of the readers and their special camaraderie forged in combat, there were lots of in-jokes for the troops (for example, ‘People We Take Our Hats Off To: The person who introduced the order forbidding Company Commanders to go beyond their front line trench’).

which benefitted from hindsight, the trench journals consist of illuminatingly spontaneous and immediate material.

In this sense the Wipers Times preserves for posterity the life and spirit of the front line, with its jargon, its slang and its uplifting commitment to a gentle and kindly humanity despite the hellish circumstances in which the journal was produced. Horror is deflected and ultimately defeated with jokes and indomitable cheerfulness. A century later, along with appropriate remembrance of the sacrifices made by those who took part in the war, it should be a source of national pride that such a gallant generation of men never lost their appetite for laughter.

OVER BUT NOT FORGOTTEN At the end, with the war over and victory won, the Better Times was more reflective than the mainstream civilian press at home, observing: ‘One cannot but remark on the absolute apathy with which the end was received over here. England seems to have had a jollification, but here one saw nothing but a disinterested interest in passing events.’

It continued, ‘Anyway, though some may be sorry it’s over, there is little doubt that the line men are not, as most of us have been cured of any little illusions we may have had about the pomp and glory

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christopher westhorp

Christopher Westhorp has worked for many years in publishing as an editor and a writer, contributing creatively to many illustrated books that range from history and military history to architecture and world religions. His most recent book is The Commando Pocket Manual 1940-1945 (Conway, 2012). www.westhorp.co.uk

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