Life, 1928-11-09 · page 12 of 52
Life — November 9, 1928 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page features a "Memories" section commemorating **Capt. Bruce Bairnsfather**, a British military figure shown in portrait. The cartoons illustrate his wartime experiences, likely from World War I based on the soldiers' uniforms and trench warfare depicted. The satirical drawings show: - A commanding officer briefing soldiers on attacking an old brewery - Combat scenes with explosions ("They shall not pass") - Soldiers relaxing with the quote about leaving "comfort and good food" to return to trenches The humor contrasts the military's grandiose orders with soldiers' weary reality. The cartoons appear drawn **by Bairnsfather himself** (per the text), suggesting he documented his own wartime observations in illustrated form—mixing military authority with soldier perspective in dark wartime satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SY Tomorrow, Bairafather we shall attack at awn ovr obsective will be the old ®rewery, they tell me “Is alive with machine Sons, Capt. Bruce BainnsraTHER There is much acrimonious debate as to who won the war—but there can be no question of doubt that it was Bruce Bairnsjether, more than any other one man, who made it endurable. Bairnsfather went out to France with the first contingent of the British Expeditionary Force—"‘that contemptible little army," as the Kaiser called it known affectionately and proudly ever since as the “Old Contemptibles."” It was in the front line trenches that Bairnsfather encountered and immor- talized those three Eternal Tommies—‘Old Bill,” “Bert” and “Alf.”" The surrounding cartoons were drawn by Capt Bairnsfather for Lire from recollections of 1914-18 p SH 5 trenches St ‘ A) pe — (ol tgs o comicbooks.com