TRENCH FOOT
Trench foot, trench foot
Rotting inside of my sodden wet boot
It smells just like one of those Froggie's been farting
I can't hardly walk so no more bloody marching
If I stay here much longer I'm going to take root -
So it's goodbye to my foot
And goodbye to the war
Such a shame I'm not able…….To walk anymore.
© nigel hallworth 2014
Some 20,000 casualties resulting from trench foot were reputed to have been suffered by the British Army alone during the course of 1914.
The only remedy for trench foot was for the soldiers to dry their feet and change their socks several times a day. By the end of 1915 British soldiers in the trenches had to have three pairs of socks with them and were under orders to change their socks at least twice a day. As well as drying their feet, soldiers were told to cover their feet with a grease made from whale-oil. It has been estimated that a battalion at the front would use ten gallons of whale-oil every day.