Now all roads lead to France and heavy is the tread
Of the living; but the dead returning lightly dance.
Edward Thomas, Roads

Monday, March 16, 2026

Fifteen Delightful British Great War Slang Expressions I've Just Discovered


I've been reading all sorts of stuff about World War I since about 1960, but these were all new to me.  MH


AUNT SALLY
Ration truck. From one of the nicknames of the Army Service Corps (ASC). 


An "Aunt Sally" Loading with Rations


BASE RAT
A soldier perpetually at the base, therefore maintaining comfort and safety. Also known as a base wallah.


BUMF
Toilet paper, or newspaper used for that purpose. Later on came to mean any excessive official documentaion. From bum fodder, an 18th-century expression.


CHIN-STRAPPED
Tired, exhausted. From the sense that a man could be so tired he was held upright only by the chinstrap of his cap or helmet.


CUTHBERT
Someone who remained at home in a cushy job, usually an officer posted to the War Office.


A Royal Artillery Officer Displaying His D.S.O.

DICK SHOT OFF
D.S.O.—the Distinguished Service Order, an "officers only" award. Used exclusively by enlisted men.


DONKEY WALLOPER
British cavalryman, especially a member of the Household Cavalry. 


GIEVES, MATTHEW & SEAGROVE
Naval version of Pip, Squeak, and Wilfred, the three WWI campaign medals. From the well-known firm of naval outfitters.


JAKES
Latrines. Expression dating back to Elizabethan times.


One of the "Jakes" at Gallipoli


JUMPING THE BAGS
Going over the top. Attacking over the sandbags of the trench parapet.


LANDOWNER
Dead. To become a landowner was to be dead and buried.


RATS AFTER MOULDY CHEESE; ROB ALL MY COMRADES
Disparaging nicknames for the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC)


"Rats and Robbers" Manning a British Dressing Station

RUSSIAN SAP
Sap trench dug below ground so that the surface earth was not disturbed.


SILENT DEATH
The practice of waiting quietly at night in no man's land for the advent of a German patrol. The patrol was then dispatched hand-to-hand as quickly and silently as possible by the use of trench knives. Much favoured by the Canadians.


UNCLE CHARLIE
Marching order; full equipment.

"Uncle Charlie" on a Long, Long, Winding Trail


Sources:  I found these scattered around the internet, but they all seem to originate in Paul Hinckley's 2014 booklet Battlefield Colloquialisms—World War I (Available HERE)


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