September 2007 meeting

The first in our new series of evening lectures was a very interesting
and entertaining talk given by Mr John Hartley of Earby on "Trench
Art." He revealed that the mysterious title referred to metal debris
recovered from the battlefields of the First World War and made by
skilled craftsmen behind the lines or by local craftsmen in Belgium
into sovenirs, which those soldiers who survived could bring home
with them and add to the collection of ornaments on the mantlepiece
at home. These objects were made mostly from shell cases, spent
bullets or even uniform buttons. John Illustrated his talk with several
items from his own collection, which created much interest in his
large audience after the talk.