Today we hear from Ernest William Bratchell, Royal Fusiliers.

“Had a game of football about two weeks ago with R.G.A. Battery, the pitch being a serious drawback. I think it was a cabbage patch.”

Although we often picture the First World War as an endless slog of combat, soldiers didn’t spend all their time in the front line. In reality, men rotated through a cycle of days in the trenches, reserve and rest. When 'at rest', sport became a vital part of that rhythm, football, boxing, games of all types. Commanders encouraged it all, knowing that physical activity kept spirits up, built camaraderie, and briefly reminded the men that life still held colour beyond khaki and mud.

Ernest survived the war.