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One Man’s Cartoons Depict the Dark Humour of the Front Line

Cartoons highlighting the dark humour of being at the front line in the First World War have been revealed by York Castle Museum.

The sketches are by Albert E V Richards who is thought to have served with the Royal 10th Hussars as a Lance Corporal.
They were drawn “somewhere at the front” in 1916 and are based on Richards’ own personal thoughts and experiences of being at war.

The optimism of going into battle in 1914 compared to the gloom of 1916, the disappearing rum supplies, the difficulties of putting out barbed wire and comic look of wearing a gas mask are all subjects depicted in the cartoons.

Richards’ sketchbook will feature in the major new First World War exhibition at YorkCastleMuseum entitled: 1914: When the World Changed Forever, which opens on June 28. The exhibition is part of a £1.7 million project at the museum, made possible thanks to a £1,167,900 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

 

Alison Bodley, curator of history, said:

“These cartoons offer us a real insight into one man’s experience of being on the front line. They show that “stiff upper lip” humour that many soldiers used to help them get through the horrors of war, the awful conditions and the boredom that affected so many of them. “We know little about Richards but he was clearly a gifted artist and also a great observer of what was going on around him.” The book was donated to York Castle Museum in 1977 but little is recorded about who the donor was. It says little about he artist apart from his name and his regiment, the 10th Royal Hussars.

The curators at the museum have been researching who Richards was and believe he is the same Albert E V Richards who was in the 10th Hussars as a Lance Corporal. Little is known about his time at war, other than through his sketches, which suggest he was for a time based at Verdun, France. Papers show he was discharged on February 13 1919 and given the silver badge which was worn by men to show they had a legitimate reason for not being in the armed forces. Curators would be keen to hear from anyone who believes they have more relevant information on Richards and his cartoons. They can be contacted by emailing robert.wake@ymt.org.uk

1914: When the World Changed Forever, will open on June 28 – 100 years to the day the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated and the fuse for war was lit.