A Tommy's Life in the Trenches: A Soldier-Artist on the Western Front - Softcover

Mackain, Fergus

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1445658291 ISBN 13: 9781445658292

Publisher: Amberley Publishing, 2016

Synopsis

Discover the poignant and humorous reality of life in the trenches through the eyes of a soldier-artist.

Private Fergus Mackain, an advertising illustrator, enlisted in 1915 and served on the Western Front. Wounded in action, he turned his artistic talents to creating humorous postcards for soldiers to send home. These postcards offer a light-hearted yet ironic glimpse into the daily lives of ordinary soldiers, from the joys of the rum ration to the ever-present artillery barrages.

Tommy's Life in the Trenches collects Mackain's extant postcards for the first time, accompanied by contextualizing commentary. Explore reproductions of actual messages sent during the war, providing a vital document of real life in the trenches. This is a unique chronicle of the 'ordinary' soldiers' experiences during a momentous struggle, appealing to those interested in military history, social history, and art.

About this title

About the Author

Fergus Mackain was born in Canada to an English father & lived in New York with his young family working as an illustrator for an ad agency. Demobbed in 1918 he lived in England for several years before returning to his family. He died in 1924.William Mackain-Bremner lives in Texas & grew up in a British army family and was introduced to his relative's poignant illustrations from an early age.John Place is a teacher and lives in Oxford.

Edition details

• Publisher: Amberley Publishing
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1445658291
• ISBN 13: 9781445658292
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128
• Editor: Mackain-Bremner William, Place John