Lifestyle
During World War 1, sleep was scarce as both sides were weary from enemy attacks. The Australian forces had very uncomfortable sleeping spaces. There were no beds for soldiers, resulting in them having to sleep in small hollows in the walls of the trenches, making it very unhygienic and dirty. Some soldiers were stuck in the same trenches for weeks and months, without being able to wash themselves or their uniforms. Many new coming soldiers new to the trenches were physically sick from the smell of rotting bodies, old and rotten food and cigarette smoke.
Image retrieved from http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/9964253?q=soldiers+in+trenches+ww1&c=picture&versionId=201723586
Retrieved 1st Nov 2013
Image retrieved from http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/9964253?q=soldiers+in+trenches+ww1&c=picture&versionId=201723586
Retrieved 1st Nov 2013
Living with Illness, Disease and...
Trenches, during the First World War, were home to thousands of Australian and Allied forces for months, sometimes years at a time.
Most parts of trenches along the Western Front were two metres high by two metres wide. These made cramped conditions for the soldiers causing very poor hygiene and very high risk of disease and in many cases, death.
The weather also had a huge effect on the diseases in the trenches. The heavy rainfall was the reason that many of the allied soldiers were infected with a disease called "Trench foot". It was caused by wearing dirty, wet socks and boots for days and weeks without washing and drying them. This disease would often result in amputation of limbs. Rain also drowned many injured and sleeping soldiers in trenches, because the trenches were only two metres high, by two metres wide, making it easy for the small trenches to just fill up with water. Even if the rain wasn't heavy, it could still make the ground muddy, as the floor of the trenches were only dirt. With the rain came the cold winds. The cold winds would mainly affect the soldiers that were wet from the rain, during the winter seasons.
The soldiers weren't the only creatures who called the trenches home. Trenches were home to hundreds and thousands of rats. The rats brought lice and fleas, covered in disease which infected the soldiers, making it a very hard task to fight off enemy attacks.
Most parts of trenches along the Western Front were two metres high by two metres wide. These made cramped conditions for the soldiers causing very poor hygiene and very high risk of disease and in many cases, death.
The weather also had a huge effect on the diseases in the trenches. The heavy rainfall was the reason that many of the allied soldiers were infected with a disease called "Trench foot". It was caused by wearing dirty, wet socks and boots for days and weeks without washing and drying them. This disease would often result in amputation of limbs. Rain also drowned many injured and sleeping soldiers in trenches, because the trenches were only two metres high, by two metres wide, making it easy for the small trenches to just fill up with water. Even if the rain wasn't heavy, it could still make the ground muddy, as the floor of the trenches were only dirt. With the rain came the cold winds. The cold winds would mainly affect the soldiers that were wet from the rain, during the winter seasons.
The soldiers weren't the only creatures who called the trenches home. Trenches were home to hundreds and thousands of rats. The rats brought lice and fleas, covered in disease which infected the soldiers, making it a very hard task to fight off enemy attacks.