Shell WW1 History Source Pack

Bierstein or Beer Mug owned by a German Army Reservist Imperial War Museum (2014) bierstein, Reservist, http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30082738 (Accessed on 30.11.17)

Figure 8. Porcelain bierstein or beer mug with metal lid. The piece is decorated with 'cavalry scenes' and ornate inscriptions dedicated to a German Regiment called the “Husaren-Regiment König Wilhelm I”. “Familiar French,” a phrase book given to British Soldiers. Imperial War Museum (2014) Familiar French, http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/publication/59933 (Accessed on 30.11.17)

In 1914 many soldiers in the British Army had experience of travelling abroad to serve in different parts of the empire however for the thousands of volunteers who joined up at the beginning of the war the shock of fighting was accompanied by the strangeness of visiting a foreign land often for the first time. The soldiers and locals formed relationships often based around supply and demand, for example soldiers swapping preserved rations and scrounged items for fresh food and alcohol from the locals. Whilst the language barrier could be overcome using sign language many soldiers learned French from phrase books or conversations with the locals in bars and shops. As they struggled with pronunciation a unique form of soldiers slang developed with mangled French words entering the vernacular of the British soldier e.g. Napoo meaning d one or used up, the origin is in the French phrase "il n'y en a plus" meaning "There is (are) no more....." Place names were particularly challenging with Auchonvillers becoming Ocean Villas, Mouquet Farm becoming Moo Cow Farm, Ploegsteert becoming Plug Street, and Ypres becoming the famous Wipers.

Figure 9. A soldier’s French phrase book