During the First World War, (otherwise known as the great war) the trenches were a home, a hospital and also a place of refuge for the soldiers. In theory, they were supposed to be a clean and comfortable place for the soldiers to temporarily live; however they were muddy, filled with rats and was almost always cold and rainy: they were not a pleasant place to be!

Features of the trenches were as follows: the dugouts, (cuboid shaped holes in the muddy trench walls, topped off only with a thin blanket and one pillow) the fire-step (a swiftly carved step for soldiers to stand on while they were shooting their weapons at their foe) and also protective sand bags. (despite the name, sandbags were actually filled with mud, due to the fact that it was not on short supply! The 'sand' bags were used as a sheild to protect the troops from bullets, bombs and also shells)