This short poem, complaining about Lice,
became popular in the trenches...
A Soldier’s Complaint
The Little Soldiers of the Night
Though some hundreds you may kill,
Still you'll find there's hundreds still,
For they hide beneath each other
And are smart at taking cover;
Then you'll have an awful bite,
They've a shocking appetite.
There are families in dozens,
Uncles, mothers, sisters, cousins,
And they have their married quarters
Where they rear their sons and daughters;
And they take a lot of catching
Cause an awful lot of scratching.
Anon
Image: The Clothes Louse from The Louse Problem on the Western Front, Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps, July 1916 (TWAS DX250/22/1)
The war against lice
Here are ten facts about lice - as you read, see if you can think of any ideas to stop them spreading.
Lice lived on the clothing and bodies of soldiers. They were very fond of the seams of trousers and tunics. Peacock called a soldier's uniform "a walking distribution agent".
The louse feeds on human blood by sinking prongs through the skin and lowering a sucking tube into the fresh blood.
Lice come in different colours. The main lice that attacked allied troops in the First World War were black or gray. Strangely, on the other side of No Man's Land, the Germans complained of red lice!
Lice eggs tended to be laid in the warmer, moist areas of the uniform - particularly in the "fork" of the trousers and underwear, in socks and underneath the armpits and collars of tunics - but could be found anywhere.
According to Captain Peacock's studies, eggs were even found in one soldier's rosary beads (small beads used in Catholic worship).
It was known that washing clothing in boiling water did reduce the number of eggs and lice. Although most soldiers had regular hot baths there was little opportunity to wash and dry uniforms. Sometimes soldiers couldn't change their clothes for weeks.
German troops were reported to kill lice by shaking them from their clothes onto heated metal tins where they sizzled to death.
A soldier who had lice, was said to be "infested". Captain Peacock found that even new recruits, who had previously been free of lice, became infested within 24 hours of arriving in the trenches.
Even if new trenches were dug and the whole company relocated, lice started to appear immediately. The reason? They were simply moving on with the troops.
Soldiers often complained about their uniforms "walking". This did not mean that they were stolen - it meant that they were covered in lice! Normally dozens of lice and eggs were found on each garment. But imagine the scene when Captain Peacock found one shirt containing 1,335 lice and 4,260 eggs!
A short quote: Body lice and louse-born disease outbreaks occur sporadically world wide in areas where US forces operate. Social disruptions and population crowding due to natural disasters or political/military situations can result in situations conducive to the spread of body louse infestations in populations such as prisoners and displaced persons. March 6 2002
