This is a trench art cigarette lighter. One side has the French surname of 'CHAMPIED' and the years '1917-18', and the other side has the name of the town 'MONASTIR', which at the time, following the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913, was a southern province of Serbia. Beneath this is the word 'SERBIE' and, below this, a stylised French Armee d'Orient crescent. || Trench art cigarette lighter

French inkwell || A French-made trench art inkwell from the Salonika Front. This inkwell is made from part of a shell casing, which has been cut and stamped decoratively. On the top, in French, is the text 'Campagne 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918', and the text 'Souvenir D'Orient' is toward the bottom. At the front are the owner's initials and at the top opening to the inkwell, for inserting an ink pen, is a Serbian coin, which has been attached so that it can be pivoted open when required and can be closed at other times.

This trench art is made from a shell from a French 75 field gun. I measured it to ascertain this, and it is French. The manufacture stamp is for July 1917. I bought it about four of five years ago in a museum in Albert, France, which is a few kilometres from the site of the Battle of the Somme. My own uncle was killed in October, 1916 at the Somme. He fought with the Roual Irish Fusilliers. || Trench art - French shell casing || || Memorabilia || 46.227638,2.213749000000007 || France || Trench art made from a shell casing from a French 75 field gun with a manufacture stamp of July 1917 || || France || Memorabilia || Trench art made from a shell casing from a French 75 field gun with a manufacture stamp of July 1917 || 46.227638,2.213749000000007