New Zealand soldiers made these matchbox cases from melted down or refashioned bullet casings. The one in the foreground commemorates the dates of the battles of the Somme, Arras and Ypres.
The term trench art refers to wartime objects made by soldiers or civilians who often refashioned the debris of battle into useful or decorative items. Despite the popular notion that these objects were made in the trenches during breaks between combat, most were actually produced away from the front line during periods of recovery (often as a form of therapy) or by civilian artisans.
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