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1918: In Civilian Life
The Medical Officer and the Private are in a temporary relationship. In civilian life the MO would have to be polite to his patient. The Private looks as though he is very certain of this.
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1918: Helping the Italians
Apart from the Western Front a number of lesser campaigns were also active for part of the 1914-1918 period. Italy had joined the war on the side of Britain and France. There was fighting on border between Italy and the Austrian Empire. It was felt that Italy needed help from its Allies and a British Expeditionary Force was sent to help the Italians. This cartoon commemorates this assistance. The Austrians were also felt to be in need of help by their German allies. It was on the Italian front that a certain Major Rommel was active.
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1918: At last
By the autumn of 1918 this scene no longer represents wishful thinking. Now at long last the war was no longer consigned to the trenches. It was now a war of movement and – finally – the movement consisted of the Allies moving forward and the Germans moving back.
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1918: Convalescence
Injured soldiers rarely appear in the pages of Punch. There were many seriously wounded survivors of the war in the trenches.
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1918: A different kind of balance
This looks like the sort of thing that could actually have happened. It is often amusing to observe young children trying to make sense of the adult world.
Sorry folks but at the moment I can’t post another entry into this thread. I use Photobucket to upload the pictures onto this site. Unfortunately it doesn’t allow me to do that at the moment. I’ll go on trying until I can do that. This sort of thing has happened before and it did get resolved fairly soon. Let’s hope that this will happen again this time.
OK now!
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1918: Temporary civil Servants
It seems that the government was so short of staff that they felt compelled to employ very young girls. We can’t call them women. Look at the length of their skirts. Women still felt obliged to wear something down to their ankles. Not these flibbertigibbets.
Phew! I’m glad it was just a short interruption Mr.M … normal service has been resumed! 
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1918: Who is that man?
The returning soldier is wise to make a fuss of his young daughter. It is difficult for a child to cope with an abrupt change to the immediate family as she or he perceives it.
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1918: Contemplating Germany’s Defeat
The date of this cartoon is significant. We can recognise this knowing as we do that the Armistice took place on November the Eleventh. It is likely that the cartoonist was now able to predict final victory from the daily news bulletins. Compared with earlier displays of ‘hunnish’ awfulness this example of ‘Hansel’ and ‘Gretel’ is fairly gentle.
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1918: Uncle Sam is Over Here!
American intervention in the war really was very important. The other combatants were truly stretched to the limit. Now vast numbers of fresh troops arrived full of optimism. They were enthusiastically welcomed by the Allies and feared by the Central Powers as they were called.
This actual joke hardly reflects the enormous significance of the arrival of the American army. Together with the plethora of food riots within Germany this is why the war ended when it did.
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1918: Americans Again
Convalescing soldiers all wore blue jackets and trousers, a white shirt and a red tie. Again the American contribution to the war is only mentioned indirectly.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/semaphore_zpsg034qc53.jpg
1918: No email
The soldier is practising the state of the art communication system, 1918 style. Until fairly recently communication in the military was always a very chancy business. For semaphore you needed line of sight contact and properly trained signallers. This implied good weather and good visibility. Without those ingredients it was down to sending a messenger.
In the cartoon the two ladies seem unconcerned with the soldier’s need to be on top of his subject.
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1918: Animals on short rations
A bit of whimsy about a real problem. The humans were on quite short rations. There was just about enough to eat but the margin was quite small. In Germany the rations had become really inadequate.
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1918: Slumming again
George Belcher consistently visits scenes ignored by the rest of Mr Punch’s cartoonists. He doesn’t usually poke fun at the ‘lower orders’ but this time he surely is doing just that,
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1918: Heavy Work
Bath-chairs feature regularly in Punch. The idea was to supply fresh air and a change of scenery to people who were too ‘ill’ to walk. The man pushing the chair is clearly doing heavy work but the powers that be don’t include him in their regulations. It is not at all clear that he is going to be generously rewarded by his current passenger.
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1918: Cinema very much present
Two convalescing Tommies contemplating a visit to the cinema. Still silent, of course, but becoming very popular.
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1918: Corpulent bather mistaken for a mine
A possible real-life episode. The war has reached every aspect of contemporary life.
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1918: The war brings two different worlds in contact with each other.
But for the war this conversation would not have taken place. Of course ‘Miss’ Giles does not take anything for freckles. She had never been aware that there was anything you could take.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/S22904945/sister_zps8klub3nn.jpg
1918: Banter in a military hospital
Many romances really did follow the coming together of wounded soldiers and marriageable nurses.
