'Trench art' tobacco box (humidor)

Creativity in the trenches

This is an example of 'trench art' from the First World War. It is a tobacco box or humidor, made from the casings of two French 75mm artillery shells.

'Trench art' is a term used to describe a decorative item made by soldiers, prisoners of war or civilians, usually from battlefield debris such as shell casings, cartridge cases, spent bullets and wrecked machinery.

Millions of artillery shells were fired during the First World War, and empty shell cases were abundant near the front lines. Ingenious soldiers made many of them into decorative and useful objects such as flower vases. Smoking was very popular during the War, and an unknown maker created this tobacco jar from the casings of two French 75mm artillery shells. The name 'Bucquoy' refers to a small town in France which was devastated during the War.