Wartime art: Swords into plowshares?

By Chris Must, Perth EMC
Staff Writer

EMC Lifestyle
"The concept of finding peaceful uses for the implements of war goes back a long way. The Biblical Book of Isaiah contains the famous prophecy: They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

The Hall of Remembrance at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 244 hall in Perth contains some notable examples of inventive wartime artists who have turned artillery shells and other weapons into vases, jewelery boxes, and even a lamp.

Beginning in the First World War, trench art became a popular pastime. During leisure hours on the front lines, skilled soldiers created works of art from the abundant supply of discarded bullets and shell casings. Most of these trench artists remain anonymous. The did not usually sign their work, because using government property for personal use was illegal. Some of this art was created, not by soldiers, but by displaced civilian labourers wanting to supplement meager earnings by crafting and selling trench art.

Whether crafted by soldiers or civilians, many of these works became treasured mementoes of service and were brought back to Canada after the war, remaining in family homes for decades.

The Hall of Remembrances most recent acquisition is a fine example of trench art. The museum received a jewelry box made from the base of an artillery shell, which was originally given by William Alp as a gift to his fiance during World War I. William Alp later became minister of St. Pauls United Church in Perth. The trench art jewelery box was left to the town as a bequest by his son, the late Donald Alp. The shell casing is engraved with inscription 1916, 1917, 1918 France. Along with the jewelry box the museum received a note written by Alps fiance: Came by mail. I wondered what I was getting. 1917.

The collection of exhibits at the Hall of Remembrance contains several other examples of trench art from both world wars. Eighteen-pounder artillery shells were a handy size to be turned into vases, and several were engraved with appropriate inscriptions or decoration, and had handles welded to them to make them more decorative. The inscription on one shell/vase reads: Souvenir of the Great War 1914-18. Another reads: 1945 souvenir of Holland World War II.

A pair of 20 mm cannon shells (the typical armament for a fighter aircraft) were cut down to make a unique pair of candlesticks. Sailors could be creative too, and the collection also includes a hand-made cribbage board with a nautical theme: a ships wheel in the centre and anchors in the corner. Another interesting item is a brass letter opener with a .303 rifle cartridge serving as the handle."