Soldiers at Poperinghe preparing to go on leave, 30 September 1917 (lantern slide)

Soldiers at Poperinghe preparing to go on leave, 30 September 1917. Lantern slide, World War One, Western Front (1914-1918), 1917. Soldiers at the front spent a long time away from their homes and families. To reduce this sense of separation, leave was granted in order to alleviate the boredom and dangers of active service. Many of the men shown here are waving their leave papers. On arriving back to Britain the soldiers often found it difficult to explain to their families what life was like at the front and felt distanced from them by their experiences. From a box of 73 lantern slides.