Out of money and out of luck - life beyond the trenches

Footsteps of the fallen

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Welcome to the final episode of 2024!
One of the great misnomers of WW1 is that soldiers spent all their time in the trenches fighting. Fighting battles took up a tiny amount of soldiers' time, so what did soldiers do when not in the line?
In this episode, we look at life behind the lines, where soldiers had the opportunity to spend their pay on treats to make soldiering more bearable. Many soldiers indulged in the age-old vices of women and gambling; gambling was technically illegal, but thousands of francs were known to change hands through unscrupulous soldiers using loaded dice to stack odds firmly in their favour. We look at the ubiquitous concert parties, hear about the leave lottery endured by soldiers, and discover why being a competent "anchor-man" was a financially enviable position. We also hear the sad story of Basil Radford, "Gilbert the Filbert", one of Edwardian theatre's greatest dandies who met a terrible end on the battlefields of France.
Footsteps of the Fallen will be back in 2025!
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