Sketches from the trenches

The South Shore Genealogical Society presented a meeting at our local library today specifically about the 26th Division, also known as the Yankee Division. The 26th was a National Guard Unit made up of men from the New England States, sent over to France to fight in the spring of 1917. They participated in every major battle, with only 10 rest days until the end of the war in 1918. The presenter, David Jennings, had an interesting collection of the WWI soldier's basic kit, helmets, packs, rifles, and defused grenades. Heavy, scary, but fascinating stuff.

After the, standard to meetings like this difficulties with the projector, he showed some fascinating colored pencil drawings enlarged from two small sketchbooks. The hundred year old drawings were done by a young Fall River, Massachusetts soldier, sketched in the trenches during the war. He began with a pencil stub, but was lucky enough to receive a set of colored pencils from his folks at home. Priceless and personal day to day remembrances of the horrors endured by so many young New Englanders.

My brother and I attended, not members of the Society, but the public was invited. We were the youngest in the room other than the presenter and we are not spring chickens! We went to honor of our paternal grandfather and his older brother, who was killed in action. After the program I went next door to our Historical Society Museum and had a last look at our WWI commemorative exhibit.