By Marika Pirie
Many buttonhook collectors have an example of a circa WWI buttonhook made from used artillery shells, military buttons and other battlefield remnants. This has been a subject of debate within the Buttonhook Society for some years. These items obviously required skilled craftmanship and tools. Was it possible that soldiers would be able to make these items while in the trenches, or were they were made by civilians in outside workshops? Based on the article below from Sept. 21st, 1918, soldiers were able to make these items while in the cramped conditions of the trenches. However, soldiers during World War One were not always in the trenches, but were rotated regularly from duty in the trenches to rest camps and work camps futher away from the front lines. When the soldiers were not assigned to routine marches and other duties, these camps located within small villages were ideal situations for the creation of wartime souvenirs. It appears possible that the embossing and detailing of the items might be completed within trenches when necessary, while the welding and cutting of metal components could be completed during rest camps. Of course, there were soldiers who were not stationed in the trenches, but were some distance away from the front in headquarters, a supply depot, or in an administrative functions. These soldiers would have had an opportunity to work on these items.
The article also indicates that German POWs made souvenirs, and certainly this was likely the case for Allied Forces POWs. POWs utilized their creations to trade for scarce items such as cigarettes.
Trench art buttonhooks can often be linked to a battle or year - many are inscribed, and many bear a military button welded to the tip or sides. I have seen two examples produced at Shoreham Training Camp in England with an engraved inscription and date dedicated to a loved one on the side (one is shown below). Both of these are identical in size and composition, and it appears possible that one person was producing and customizing them.
Wartime souvenirs were very popular from the early days of the war - both civilians and soldiers were fascinated with battlefield relics. In Toronto, a major department store was quick to organize a large display of battlefield remnants in 1916 and this was advertised as an attraction for customers. Souvenirs were also displayed during Red Cross fund raising events and at recruiting rallies. Many of the soldiers' letters published in the newspapers mentioned the acquisition of souvenirs - with German helmets and belt buckles as exceptionally popular items. I recall one May 1915 letter home that was published in the newspaper and where the soldier recounted his narrow escape in a gas attack, and while recovering from his wounds in hospital, he wrote apologetically: "Tell Dr. Riegal that I still haven't been able to get him a German helmet but I will keep on trying." In the memoirs of a Canadian soldier published just after the war, he recalled one day when the men were sitting outside the trenches and two Toronto natives were discussing the possibility of opening an antique shop after the war with all the "souvenirs" they had acquired.
Civilians also realized the demand for these items and produced their own versions to sell to soldiers not artistically inclined, or to import to England and North America for sales to relatives. After the war this production by civilians continued as relatives and former soldiers visited the Western Front battlefields during the 1920s and 1930s and wanted to have a souvenir to take home. Civilians used battlefield remnants - still readily available to this day, and created a variety of items such as button hooks, letter openers, desk sets, etc. Although current "Trench Art" reference books do not mention the buttonhook, in fact, most buttonhook collectors have one or more examples. The Bata Shoe museum in Toronto has an example in its collection, and the 48th Highlanders Museum (15th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary force during WWI), also located in Toronto, has two buttonhooks made of shell cases in a display case.
Recorded examples
Among the pieces recorded by members are a buttonhook inscribed “Verdun 1916” with stippled barbed-wire detail; one inscribed “To Elizabeth from Ross — Vosges 1918” (Vosges being the site of an American action); and another reading “To my wife Ivah, Shoreham, August 17th, 1917, from Sgt. R. G. Foster”, with a Canadian cap badge at the end. Several combine halved bullets of two different metals spliced to the handle, or Canadian buttons in brass and silver-plate.
Photographs of trench-art pieces are in the Gallery.