Trench art sampler by John Robert Redcliffe, from the First World War.
Trench art is a term used for objects made by military, civilians or commercial groups who were actively and directly involved in an armed conflict. Two well-known forms of trench art are the embroidered silk postcards dating from the First World War (1914-1918) and embroideries worked by POW's, often classed as trench art samplers.
Some of the oldest POW embroideries date from the Napoleonic wars and were made by soldiers to supplement their food rations. A later example of an English POW embroidery was made by Major Alexis Casdagli during the Second World War (1939-1945). The embroidery contained hidden messages worked in Morse code.
See also the TRC Needles entry on sailor's woolwork.
Digital source of illustration (retrieved 29th May 2016).
GVE
